The original inquest into Poppi's death was heard in private, lasted just seven minutes and heard no evidence. Photo / Handout
Police have recovered a laptop believed to have been used by Poppi Worthington's father on the night she died.
Paul Worthington claimed that he used a computer on the night he is believed to have sexually abused 13-month-old Poppi before she died in 2012 in Cumbria.
Worthington has previously avoided any court action, despite a coroner and a family court judge both ruling that he sexually assaulted the youngster in his bed.
However, there were hopes of a breakthrough today after it emerged that police have seized a laptop which may hold the key to the case.
A police spokesman said today: 'The Constabulary can confirm that during the course of their enquiries officers have recovered a number of items, including a laptop.
'The laptop is subject to meticulous forensic examination, by specialist officers, to determine whether it is relevant to potential enquiries concerning Poppi Worthington.'
The update came after The Sunday Times Magazine reported that Mr Worthington claimed he gave the laptop to his neighbour.
Earlier this year, a coroner said Mr Worthington had assaulted Poppi before she died in his bed. A similar conclusion was reached by a family division judge in 2016.
At an inquest, Worthington refused to answer questions about Poppi's death, relying 252 times on his right to remain silent under inquest rules designed to prevent people incriminating themselves.
He reportedly told police he had watched pornography on the night Poppi died.
Police failed to secure the family home and did not collect key evidence, including the bed sheets Poppi was taken to hospital on or samples from her body.
Worthington was not arrested until August 2013, and no charges were brought.
Earlier this year, the Crown Prosecution Service ruled out what would have been a fourth review of evidence, saying no new witnesses had come forward.
Three attempts at a prosecution have failed, primarily because of a lack of evidence gathered by police at the time of Poppi's death in 2012 in Barrow in Furness, Cumbria.
The first attempt was in March 2015, following a referral from police; then in June 2016, following the outcome of a Family Court hearing; and again in November 2016, when the decision not to prosecute was subject to a Victim's Right to Review application.
Mr Worthington's sister has previously said that he maintains he has done nothing wrong.
'Irregular' inquest, a father in hiding and an 'unstructured' approach by police: Timeline of Poppi's death
Here are the key events surrounding the death of Poppi Worthington:
December 12 2012 - Poppi Worthington dies suddenly aged 13 months after she collapses at her home in Barrow-in-Furness, Cumbria, and is rushed to hospital.
February 2013 - Poppi is buried after the coroner releases her body.
June 2013 - A full post-mortem report indicates the cause of death is unascertained.
August 2013 - Poppi's parents are arrested and formally interviewed for the first time. Poppi's father, Paul Worthington, is questioned on suspicion of sexually assaulting his daughter - an allegation he denies.
March 2014 - Fact-finding judgment on the circumstances of Poppi's death is delivered in private as part of family court proceedings involving other children in the family. Its publication is delayed in case it prejudices any criminal trial.
October 2014 - HM Coroner for South Cumbria, Ian Smith - now retired - holds an inquest at Barrow Town Hall and takes just seven minutes to declare her death as unexplained after stating he was satisfied to rely on the findings of the private fact-finding judgment. The case is not listed in Poppi's name but as 'a child aged 13 months'.
January 2015 - HM Senior Coroner for Cumbria, David Roberts, confirms he will ask for a fresh inquest in a written reply to lawyers representing various media organisations who argued the October hearing was insufficient and therefore unlawful.
March 2015 - Cumbria Police announce no charges will be brought against anyone over Poppi's death after they had previously passed a file to the Crown Prosecution Service for its consideration.
April 2015 - Paul Worthington is granted a review of the March 2014 medical evidence, which further delays publication of the original fact-finding judgment.
July 2015 - High Court judges order a fresh inquest into the youngster's death after the first hearing was deemed 'irregular'.
November 2015 - A hearing reviewing the medical evidence from the March 2014 court proceedings gets under way in Liverpool. Ahead of the hearing, Mr Justice Peter Jackson (now Lord Justice Peter Jackson) releases parts of his original fact-finding judgment which reveal that Cumbria Police did not conduct any 'real' investigation into Poppi's death for nine months despite a senior pathologist raising concerns the girl's injuries were caused by 'a penetrative sexual assault'.
January 19 2016 - The judge announced his findings that - on the balance of probabilities - Mr Worthington had sexually assaulted Poppi shortly before her death.
January 21 2016 - Paul Worthington's sister Tracy tells reporters that he has left Cumbria after being 'hounded'.
June 2016 - A Serious Case Review finds that Poppi's mother, who cannot be named for legal reasons, had a 'difficult and traumatic childhood' in a family 'with intergenerational experiences of neglect and abuse'. It also reveals that Paul Worthington is an ex-partner of a woman who was feared to have sexually exploited Poppi's mother.
July 2016 - The Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) says there is 'insufficient evidence' to charge Paul Worthington with any offence over his daughter's death.
November 2016 - The CPS states that its decision not to charge was correct following an independent review of the evidence, prompted by a request under the victims' right to review scheme.
March 3 2017 - The Independent Police Complaints Commission (IPCC) finally publishes its 2015 findings into the initial police probe over Poppi's death. It finds the approach of senior detectives was 'unstructured and disorganised' and that there were enough grounds to make an arrest on the day of Poppi's death.
November 27, 2017 - The second inquest starts at County Hall, Kendal, and hears more than three weeks of evidence.
January 15 2018 - Coroner rules Poppi was sexually abused by her father before she died, and her death was caused by asphyxia.
March 15 2018 - Crown Prosecution Service says there will be no further review into Poppi's death.
Just 17 2018 - Police find missing laptop that could prove Poppi's father watched porn the night