Poppi Worthington died in 2012. A senior coroner ordered an inquest into the 13-month-old's death after a hearing in October declared it 'unascertained' A fresh inquest was ordered yesterday into the death of 13-month-old Poppi Worthington. The decision means more than two years of official silence over the case may finally be broken. Poppi died in December 2012 but the public have been told nothing about what happened to her or how social workers and police handled the affair. It follows a seven-minute inquest in October during which Cumbria coroner Ian Smith gave no information about the circumstances leading to the girl’s death. It simply found that her death was ‘unascertained’. Ian Smith, coroner for the south and east district, did not refer to the events leading up to Poppi's death and said the cause could not be ascertained. He said he was 'satisfied' that the findings of a private family court hearing were sufficient. Lawyers representing several newspaper groups - Times Newspapers Ltd, Guardian News & Media and Associated Newspapers Limited - wrote to Her Majesty's Senior Coroner for Cumbria, David Roberts, to argue the inquest was insufficient and therefore unlawful. In a written reply to law firm RPC, Mr Roberts, said: 'My own view is that it would be desirable for a fresh inquest to take place, not least so that conclusions as to how, when and where Poppi Worthington came by her death can be recorded. 'Neither I nor Mr Smith has power to hold a further inquest without the permission of the High Court. However, it is open to me to seek a fiat (order) from the Attorney General to pursue an application under section 13 of the Coroners Act for an Order that a fresh inquest is to be held and I will now be doing so.' There have been two arrests relating to Poppi's death on December 12, 2012, including her father, Paul, 47, who was questioned on suspicion of sexually assaulting her. Cumbria Constabulary has passed a file to the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) to consider whether any criminal proceedings should be brought. A CPS spokesman said today: 'We have received a file from Cumbria Constabulary on this case and we will be making a decision as soon as is practicably possible.' In a separate development, it can now be reported that Poppi's home town was Barrow-in-Furness. High Court judge Mr Justice Peter Jackson, who has dealt with family proceedings connected to the case, varied a reporting restriction order following legal submissions made on behalf of numerous media companies. Last October - a week after the inquest - Mr Justice Jackson noted there had been 'some concern' about the lack of information available to the public about the death. Explaining why he had not yet made public his own 'fact-finding judgement' on the case given in the family proceedings last March, the judge said: 'As a result of the judgement further police investigations into Poppi's death are now taking place. 'A decision by the Crown Prosecution Service may then follow. 'In the interests of justice it is essential that this process is allowed to take place without interference and that any criminal proceedings are not prejudiced.' He concluded: 'The circumstances of Poppi's death will surely become known to the public in due course but, for the reasons that I have given, limited reporting restrictions remain necessary at this point in time and the fact-finding judgement of this court cannot yet be published.' Sorry we are not currently accepting comments on this article.
Poppi Worthington was 13 months old when she died in December 2012 .
Judge imposed orders stopping details of baby's death from being revealed .
Public have been told nothing about what happened to her or how social workers and police handled the affair .
A seven-minute inquest in October found her death to be unexplained .
Lawyers representing several newspapers wrote to Her Majesty's Senior Coroner for Cumbria to argue that the inquest was insufficient and unlawful .
The coroner ordered a fresh inquest into her death yesterday .
Poppi Worthington died in 2012. A senior coroner ordered an inquest into the 13-month-old's death after a hearing in October declared it 'unascertained' A fresh inquest was ordered yesterday into the death of 13-month-old Poppi Worthington. The decision means more than two years of official silence over the case may finally be broken. Poppi died in December 2012 but the public have been told nothing about what happened to her or how social workers and police handled the affair. It follows a seven-minute inquest in October during which Cumbria coroner Ian Smith gave no information about the circumstances leading to the girl’s death. It simply found that her death was ‘unascertained’. Ian Smith, coroner for the south and east district, did not refer to the events leading up to Poppi's death and said the cause could not be ascertained. He said he was 'satisfied' that the findings of a private family court hearing were sufficient. Lawyers representing several newspaper groups - Times Newspapers Ltd, Guardian News & Media and Associated Newspapers Limited - wrote to Her Majesty's Senior Coroner for Cumbria, David Roberts, to argue the inquest was insufficient and therefore unlawful. In a written reply to law firm RPC, Mr Roberts, said: 'My own view is that it would be desirable for a fresh inquest to take place, not least so that conclusions as to how, when and where Poppi Worthington came by her death can be recorded. 'Neither I nor Mr Smith has power to hold a further inquest without the permission of the High Court. However, it is open to me to seek a fiat (order) from the Attorney General to pursue an application under section 13 of the Coroners Act for an Order that a fresh inquest is to be held and I will now be doing so.' There have been two arrests relating to Poppi's death on December 12, 2012, including her father, Paul, 47, who was questioned on suspicion of sexually assaulting her. Cumbria Constabulary has passed a file to the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) to consider whether any criminal proceedings should be brought. A CPS spokesman said today: 'We have received a file from Cumbria Constabulary on this case and we will be making a decision as soon as is practicably possible.' In a separate development, it can now be reported that Poppi's home town was Barrow-in-Furness. High Court judge Mr Justice Peter Jackson, who has dealt with family proceedings connected to the case, varied a reporting restriction order following legal submissions made on behalf of numerous media companies. Last October - a week after the inquest - Mr Justice Jackson noted there had been 'some concern' about the lack of information available to the public about the death. Explaining why he had not yet made public his own 'fact-finding judgement' on the case given in the family proceedings last March, the judge said: 'As a result of the judgement further police investigations into Poppi's death are now taking place. 'A decision by the Crown Prosecution Service may then follow. 'In the interests of justice it is essential that this process is allowed to take place without interference and that any criminal proceedings are not prejudiced.' He concluded: 'The circumstances of Poppi's death will surely become known to the public in due course but, for the reasons that I have given, limited reporting restrictions remain necessary at this point in time and the fact-finding judgement of this court cannot yet be published.' Sorry we are not currently accepting comments on this article.
'unascertained' A fresh inquest was ordered yesterday into the death of 13-month-old Poppi finally be broken. Poppi died in December 2012 but the public have been told nothing about what happened to her or how social workers and police handled the affair. It follows a seven-minute inquest in October during which Cumbria coroner simply found that her death was ‘unascertained’. sufficient. Lawyers representing several wrote to Her Majesty's Senior Coroner for Cumbria, David Roberts, to argue the inquest was