Statement by Mr Justice Peter Jackson: Poppi Worthington - reasons for the current reporting restrictions

I am making this statement to explain why I have made a limited reporting restriction order in the course of family proceedings relating to the siblings of Poppi Worthington, and why I have not at this stage published a judgment given in March 2014 at the end of a fact-finding hearing into the circumstances of her death.

Poppi Worthington died on 12 December 2012. The inquest into her death was concluded by HM Coroner on 21 October 2014. Some concern has subsequently been expressed about the lack of information that is currently available to the public.

The conduct of an inquest is a matter for HM Coroner, and not for this court. This court’s task is to make appropriate orders in relation to Poppi’s siblings and, where reporting restrictions are proposed, to balance the rights of individuals to protection alongside the interests of the public in freedom of information and the upholding of the criminal law.

Family court proceedings in relation to the surviving children were not started until October 2013. In March 2014, I gave judgment at the end of a substantial fact-finding hearing. My usual practice, consistent with the practice of the Family Court as a whole, is to publish any significant judgment on the internet, in anonymised form where necessary. For the reasons that appear below, I am not yet able to follow the usual practice in this case.

Furthermore, in July 2014, I made a reporting restriction order, after receiving submissions from the parties to the family proceedings and on behalf of most of the main