THE father of Barrow toddler Poppi Worthington received £25,000 to fight an inquest into death of his daughter - despite refusing to answer 252 questions in the hearing.

A coroner concluded that Paul Worthington had probably sexually abused his 13-month-old daughter before she suffocated in her father’s bed on December 12 2012.

David Roberts, senior coroner for Cumbria made the ruling in January 2018.

Mr Worthington refused to answer questions put to him during the inquest in Kendal, relying on rules which allowed him to refuse to respond in case he incriminated himself.

Nobody has been charged over Poppi’s death.

The Ministry of Justice said legal aid was granted under the Exceptional Case Funding scheme and in cases where there is a risk of a breach of human rights, or if there is a significant public interest in doing so.

A Legal Aid Agency spokesman said: “Legal aid is available for inquests in certain exceptional circumstances.

“Decisions on funding are made independently by the Legal Aid Agency and applications must meet strict means and merits criteria.”

Barrow and Furness MP John Woodcock said: “Paul Worthington received more than £25,000 in legal aid, yet he went on to obstruct justice and transparency by refusing to answer 252 questions at the inquest into little Poppi’s death.

“By doing so he also aggravated the deep hurt and suffering that Poppi’s family and the wider community have felt.

“This disclosure will also be hugely alarming for all those people in dire circumstances who can’t obtain access to any kind of legal aid support.”

Mr Worthington, a former Tesco worker, has been in £50,000-a-year police protection and will also receive legal aid for a failed challenge to the coroner’s ruling.

He took the coroner to court saying he “overstepped the mark” in his inquest ruling but a bid to remove details from the record of Poppi’s death was rejected by a judge. He was told to pay costs for bringing a judicial review.