Prosecutors have pledged to look again at the case against Poppi Worthington’s father after a coroner urged them to reopen it following his ruling that the 13-month-old died in his bed.
The ‘fit and active’ toddler was probably sexually assaulted in the double bed where Paul Worthington, 50, slept hours before she suffocated to death, senior coroner David Roberts said on Monday.
It was the third court judgment to conclude that Poppi was subjected to a brutal attack before she died on December 12, 2012.
Yesterday the Crown Prosecution Service said it would go over the evidence again and consider formally reviewing the case. It has already been reviewed three times, but the CPS said there had never been enough evidence to put Worthington before a jury.
Prosecutors have pledged to look again at the case against Poppi Worthington’s father after a court said the 13-month-old died in his bed
This was because of a bungled police investigation, which meant key items of evidence were never collected.
Mr Justice Jackson ruled in a family hearing in 2014 that Poppi had probably been assaulted by her father, coming to the same conclusion at appeal in 2016.
Poppi’s mother has pleaded for the case to be reviewed, while Nazir Afzal, former chief crown prosecutor for the North West, said: ‘I would encourage the CPS to look again.’
Mr Roberts formally referred a copy of his decision, made on the balance of probabilities, to the CPS on Tuesday.
The CPS say they have received Mr Roberts decision and will review it along with Cumbria Police.

A judge made public the conclusion that Paul Worthington (pictured) sexually abused 13-month-old Poppi hours before her death
A spokesman for the CPS said: ‘We have received a copy of the coroner’s decision and will now consider this carefully in liaison with Cumbria Constabulary.’
It comes after it was revealed Poppi Worthington’s father is still getting £50,000-a-year police protection despite a coroner ruling he sexually abused his daughter before she died.
Cumbria Police confirmed that ‘security arrangements have been put in place due to threats having been made’ to Paul Worthington, from Barrow-in-Furness.
But John Woodcock, the local MP for Poppi’s family, has condemned the ‘absurd and expensive’ protection for the father of the tragic 13-month-old girl.
The Labour MP for Barrow spoke out as it was revealed that former supermarket worker Worthington, 49, may have to live the rest of his life with a new identity.
He has been living in hiding after a judge made public the conclusion that he abused Poppi hours before her death.
Today, Mr Woodcock told MailOnline: ‘Our community will resent this daily reminder of the abject failure of the police to do their job in the first place.
‘We have to try every avenue and hope that the coroner’s verdict gives us a chance at getting a trial that would end this absurd and expensive situation – but the chances are slim, which is why I am calling for a public inquiry.’
A Cumbria Police spokesman told MailOnline today of the protection for Poppi’s father: ‘We will not comment on the specific details, but security arrangements have been put in place due to threats having been made to Mr Worthington.’
Yesterday, the senior coroner for Cumbria concluded that Poppi suffered a serious sexual assault in her father’s double bed at the family home in the early hours of December 12 2012.

Poppi Worthington woke up screaming at about 5.30am in 2012 at the family home
The ruling on the balance of probabilities effectively mirrored two earlier fact-finding judgments by a High Court family judge in 2014 and 2016 that Worthington abused his daughter shortly before her death.
Mr Woodcock said yesterday that Poppi will never get justice, as he called for a public inquiry into the ‘grotesque failing’ by police.
He said: ‘This is the verdict we all feared – Poppi was probably assaulted by her father before she died. That little girl will probably never get justice because of grotesque failings into the police investigation into her death.
‘But we owe it to her to campaign for a public inquiry that can expose all that is rotten in the system that has led us to this terrible day.’
Worthington appears to have escaped prosecution over the sexual abuse of his daughter, but his protection could cost the taxpayer as much as £50,000 a year.
He appeared before the fresh inquest into Poppi’s death at Kendal Coroner’s Court last November – but had to be accompanied by two police officers armed with Tasers.

Paul Worthington arrives at Kendal County Hall in Cumbria for the inquest last November
Worthington was also allowed to give evidence while shielded from the public.
The father appeared to make every effort to avoid saying anything that could help reveal how and why Poppi died.
During the hearing, he declined to answer questions 252 times, routinely responding: ‘I rely on the right not to answer under Rule 22.’

John Woodcock, the local MP for Poppi’s family, has condemned the ‘absurd and expensive’ police protection for the father
This allows witnesses at inquests to avoid saying anything that could incriminate them. But coroner David Roberts still found flaws in the father’s evidence.
For example, Worthington – who denies any wrongdoing – had misled medical workers at Furness General Hospital into thinking that constipation may have contributed to Poppi’s death.
Mr Roberts said the accounts Worthington had given since the tragedy ‘differ and raise concerning questions’.
Among these were elements of Worthington’s account of Poppi’s final hours which he said were ‘not credible’.
He found of Worthington: ‘Whilst parts of his previous accounts may be true, I cannot rely upon any one of them as providing a complete and truthful history of what took place between his taking Poppi from her cot and her death.’
Worthington may once have believed he would escape unscathed from Poppi’s death.
It was not until eight months after the day she died that Worthington was arrested and questioned by police.
And, after errors in the police investigation, there was not enough evidence to charge him.
In autumn 2014, Cumbria council was still trying to keep everything about the death – including Poppi’s name, the town she lived in and all public agencies involved – secret.
Only in January 2016 was a damning fact-finding ruling by High Court judge Mr Justice Jackson made public. It concluded that Worthington had perpetrated a brutal assault on Poppi before she died.
The only clue to Worthington’s life was given by his barrister Paul Clark, who said: ‘He has been in a long-term position of great vulnerability and risk and as a result has been in a long-term position of witness protection whereby his current appearance and location are not known.’
Witness protection is usually provided for those giving evidence against criminals at great risk to themselves, rather than those needing protection from vigilante attacks.
Worthington’s lawyers, Farley Solicitors, said: ‘Mr Worthington is considering his options following the coroner’s conclusion today and we are advising him not to say anything further at this point.’
Cumbria Police’s chief constable, Jeremy Graham, has again apologised to Poppi’s family for the force’s failings, but said police would now look at ‘possible courses of action’ with lawyers following the coroner’s findings.
Lead detective on the police inquiry, Detective Inspector Amanda Sadler, a former Miss Great Britain, was subjected to a disciplinary hearing last year where gross incompetency was proven and she was demoted in rank.
She has since retired along with her boss, former Detective Chief Inspector Mike Forrester. No further action was taken against either of the former officers.
In 2015, the Independent Police Complaints Commission (IPCC) concluded that both Mrs Sadler and Mr Forrester had cases to answer for gross misconduct.
Mr Woodcock said: ‘It is hard to overstate our community’s anger at seeing an officer found responsible for gross incompetence able to keep a job in the force before retiring. This is not accountability.’

Paul Worthington is helped into Kendal County Hall for the second inquest last November
He said a public inquiry should look at preventing negligent officers from retiring to escape scrutiny and the decision by Cumbria Police to offer an officer found guilty of gross incompetence an alternative senior role in the force rather than dismissal.
He added: ‘Police officers work so hard to keep our community safe but they need leaders now who are prepared to recognise the damage that has been done by this tragedy and campaign for real change to restore public confidence.’
Mr Graham said the inquest detailing the catalogue of failures by officers had been ‘uncomfortable listening’.
He added: ‘I will consider the detail of the coroner’s conclusion and his comments today and we will be having an early discussion with the Crown Prosecution Service in order to determine possible courses of action.’
Cumbria’s police and crime commissioner Peter McCall declined to comment to MailOnline today on the protection for Worthington.