Poppi Worthington: Catalogue of failings by authorities may prevent truth coming out over toddler's death

No “real” police investigation was carried out for nine months, a High Court judge has revealed

The cause of Poppi Worthington’s death three years ago has yet to be established

A catalogue of failings by police, local authorities and doctors investigating the sudden and unexpected death of Poppi Worthington may prevent the truth ever coming out over what caused the tragedy, it emerged on Wednesday.

The 13-month-old toddler collapsed and died at her home in Cumbria, in December 2012, but no “real” police investigation was carried out for nine months a High Court judge has revealed.

Senior detectives in Cumbria thought a pathologist “may have jumped to conclusions” when she raised suspicions about Poppi’s death. They decided not to investigate until the full post-mortem report was ready, but that was not finished until the following summer by which time Poppi’s body had been released by the local coroner for her burial in February 2013.

The case has been shrouded in secrecy for three years. Poppi’s inquest, last October, took place partly in private, and took just seven minutes to deliver an “unexplained” verdict, but raised concerns.

Her parents had been arrested in August 2013 when they were formally interviewed for the first time, with her father, Paul Worthington, 47, being questioned on suspicion of sexually assaulting her - an allegation he denies. Mr Worthington and Poppi’s mother, a 31-year-old woman who cannot be named for legal reasons, were released without charge.

In March 2014 High Court judge Mr Justice Peter Jackson completed a fact finding judgment as part of the care proceedings in relation to other children in the family, which was kept private so not to prejudice any potential criminal proceedings. It was finally published on Wednesday at the outset of a fresh hearing in Liverpool on the medical evidence surrounding Poppi’s death.

Her post-mortem found an old fracture in her right leg and “suspected acute injuries in the region of the anus”, Mr Justice Jackson’s report said. Both parents denied causing any harm to their daughter.

The judge said the hearing had not been an inquiry into the performance of the police or local authority. “However, during the evidence, it became apparent that actions taken or not taken at the time and in the months that followed are of potential relevance to the court’s ability to make findings of fact,” he said.

The judge said that national multi-agency good practice protocols and regulations, known as the ‘Kennedy Protocol’ which provide a framework for collaborative investigation of all unexpected deaths in children up to the age of two, “appear to have had no effect on this case”.

He said: “Due to the extreme delay in that process, there was no real investigation into P’s (Poppi) death for nine months. Such minimal investigation as thereafter took place was inevitably affected by the delay and by actions not taken at an earlier stage.”

Mr Justice Jackson listed 12 major faults by Cumbria police, including items not being preserved for forensic analysis either at the home or at the hospital after Poppi’s collapse and the scene at the house not being secured.

The locum paediatrician who saw Poppi was not aware of the protocols for infant deaths and was therefore unable to lead the forensic medical investigation in an appropriate manner, the judge said.

The reasons for Poppi’s injuries and death remain secret. The 2014 judgment will be published in full when Mr Justice Jackson reaches his findings from the present hearing at Liverpool Family Court.

Cumbria police referred itself to the Independent Police Complaints Commission in June 2014. A spokesperson for the IPCC said it had completed their investigation and will publish their findings once all legal issues have been completed.

Cumbria police said in statement: “Policies and procedures are continuing to be reviewed by the force and lessons have been learned from this case.”

Two High Court justices quashed the original “irregular” inquest and ordered a fresh inquiry. A Serious Case Review into Poppi’s contact with social service and other agencies, led by Cumbria’s Local Safeguarding Children Board, has been put on hold pending the new inquest.