Catalogue of errors that put her at risk

CORONER Dame Linda Dobbs appeared to ignore swathes of evidence when she stated she was ‘unable to conclude that any acts or omissions … possibly or probably contributed to the death of Ellie Butler’.

But a host of information, made public in a serious case review in 2016, said professionals felt ‘powerless to act’ after her killer father’s public exoneration by the Family Court.

The review found that because of the number of agencies

involved, no one grasped the ‘big picture’ of what was happening – a prolonged campaign of abuse by Ben Butler.

Officials said they felt they had ‘nowhere to go’ because of Mrs Justice Hogg’s judgement at the Family Court, yet they failed to hold a multiagency meeting to assess the impact of the legal decision.

The report also found ‘a loss of focus’ on Ellie and her welfare across the board, and that no one considered the ‘adverse impact’ on a child living under the same roof as a man like Butler.

Independent social work firm, Services for Children, was also slammed in the review. It was brought in at the behest of the Family Court, but failed to see Butler was a malign influence.

Dame Linda said the Family Court issues were out of the scope of the inquest but said she would address other failings in a report on preventing future deaths.