Council told to accept verdict in abuse case

SOCIAL SERVICES bosses say lawyers advised them that they “could not have appealed” when a senior family court judge ruled that Ellie Butler should return to live with the father who had been accused of hurting her.

Bosses in the London Borough of Sutton said they had “strongly contested” the decision made by Mrs Justice Hogg four years ago after a hearing in the Family Division of the High Court in London.

But a spokesman said lawyers had advised that there were “no grounds” for a legal challenge in the Court of Appeal.

Ellie died in October 2013 aged six after being found injured at her home in Sutton, southwest London – about a year after Mrs Justice Hogg ruled that she should return to parents Ben Butler and Jennie Gray.

Butler was convicted of murdering Ellie in June 2016 after a trial at the Old Bailey and given a minimum 23-year jail term.

Gray, was sentenced to 42 months in prison after being convicted of child cruelty. She had admitted perverting the course of justice.

A Sutton Council spokesman released a statement relating to lawyers’ advice about Mrs Justice Hogg’s decision after more detail about events leading up to Ellie’s death emerged.

“Sutton Council strongly contested the decision that was made by Mrs Justice Hogg in 2012,” said the spokesman. “We sought legal advice but were advised there were no grounds for appeal.”

He added: “We were advised we couldn’t have appealed.”

A number of family court judges, including two High Court judges based in the Family Division, oversaw hearings relating to Ellie. Butler had been convicted of shaking Ellie when she was a baby before being cleared on appeal. The little girl was placed with grandparents after Butler was accused of shaking her.