Poppi Worthington's father granted with £117,000 for legal aid in custody battle for her siblings

Poppi Worthington's father, Paul Worthington, has been granted £117,000 for legal aid for his legal battle for Poppi's siblings. He was previously judges to have sexually assaulted his 13 month-old daughter shortly before she died in 2012.

Since October 2013, new information obtained through Freedom of Information request revealed that Paul Worthington has been awarded  £87,318  for counsel payments and £29, 450 for solicitors fees for the custody of Poppi's other siblings, as reported by Mail Online.

He was previously deemed by a judge to have likely committed sexual assault against his daughter shortly before she died. Poppi's parents were arrested after the event, but Paul Worthington  has since denied the sexually assaulting his daughter.

According to Telegraph, the Cumbria County Council has also brought out huge amount of cash, having spent £195,500 for outside lawyers tasked to handle matters regarding the protection of the Worthington siblings, and another £12,365 for their in-house solicitors. They were previously criticized for not following local and national guidelines on Poppi's death.

The amount incurred by the Cumbria County Council included the application to the court to hide the details of the case for 15 years which was not granted. According to The Sun, the amount released convinced Labour MP John Woodcock that a more elaborate investigation should be made.

"These mounting bills are more evidence we need to get to the truth as quickly as possible", Woodcock said. A fresh inquest on Poppi's death is expected to be done. The 2014 civil court judgement is also being kept private in order to maintain fairness in the criminal proceedings.

Poppi was rushed to the hospital after she was found with severe injuries in their home. She was declared dead on arrival. Post-mortem examination report released on June also declared her death "unascertained" after taking seven minutes.

Mr. Worthington is currently at large, speculated to be staying in the rural Wales for fear of being killed by a lynch mob. Poppi's siblings were taken into care several months after the little girl's death. They are currently in long-term forster homes. 

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