Lawyers for a Barrow supermarket worker alleged to have sexually assaulted his daughter before she died have argued his safety is paramount at an inquest into her death.

A pre-inquest hearing into the death of 13-month-old Poppi Worthington took place in Carlisle this morning to set out the terms of the formal inquest into her sudden death in December 2012.

But QC Leslie Thomas, representing Mr Worthington, said death threats made to him on social media channels had 'not subsided' as he urged the coroner to seek advice from the police over the potential risk should he be asked to give evidence in person.

Mr Thomas also argued that the conclusion of High Court Judge Mr Justice Jackson - who believes Mr Worthington sexually attacked baby Poppi before she died - is excluded from evidence during the inquest, set to take place in Kendal on October 10, as it would be unlawful.

Mr Thomas told the court: "In relation to the risk and death threats, these have not subsided and we are extremely concerned about this.

"The risk is not just in the court room, it's getting there, leaving there. "I would ask that the coroner seeks the police's assistance in relation to this risk."

However, Alison Hewitt, QC, acting as legal advisor to Cumbria's senior coroner, David Roberts, said consideration must also be given to the benefits of seeing Mr Worthington give evidence in person.

She added: "In deciding what the risk is, you must consider what benefit there would be from your seeing Mr Worthington give evidence in your presence rather than via videolink.

"It puts a degree of distance between you and the witness in that regard."

Coroner Mr Roberts is now set to decide upon whether Mr Worthington will be asked to attend the inquest in person within the coming weeks while also considering whether to admit the fact finding jugdement of Justice Jackson into evidence. He has ruled the inquest will not be decided by a jury.

LIVE UPDATES FROM THE HEARING

12.50pm Police advice is set to be sought on Paul Worthington security risk if he attends Poppi's inquest before the coroner makes decision on it.

12.30pm Inquest lawyer states that the coroner should also consider the benefits of seeing Paul Worthington give evidence in person rather than video link.

12.10pm Lawyers for Paul Worthington today say they are seeking legal aid to represent him at Poppi inquest.

11.55am Paul Worthington's lawyer argues against including High Court judge's conclusion on Poppi's death at her inquest.

Poppi's mother has said she hopes it will finally give the toddler justice.

Fiona McGhie, an expert civil liberties lawyer at Irwin Mitchell, who is representing Poppi's mother - who cannot be named for legal reasons - said on her behalf: "Poppi's mother has always been anxious to know exactly what happened to Poppi on the day of her death as well as to secure justice for her little girl. She hopes the full inquest will assist her in both endeavours."

Mr Worthington, 48, who was arrested and questioned on suspicion of sexual assault in August 2013, has always denied any wrongdoing.

Earlier this month the Crown Prosecution Service said that after reviewing its previous decision not to pursue criminal charges in the case, there was "insufficient evidence" to charge Mr Worthington with any offence over his daughter's death.

At the time a spokesman for the CPS said: "The CPS has looked at the original decision in this case that there was insufficient evidence to provide a realistic prospect of conviction - as we often do in other cases. We have reached the same conclusion."

Following the announcement, Poppi's mother said that she had been left "angry and disappointed" by the decision.

In October 2014, an inquest into the infant's death controversially took only seven minutes to declare the cause of death could not be ascertained, with the original coroner concluding that her death remained "unexplained".

High Court judge Mr Justice Peter Jackson's ruling was made as part of care proceedings in the family court involving siblings of Poppi.

The judge concluded that Cumbria Police carried out no "real" investigation into the death of the toddler for nine months, and highlighted a list of basic errors in evidence-gathering.

He noted that senior detectives thought a pathologist "may have jumped to conclusions" in her belief that the youngster had been a victim of abuse.

Cumbria Police later apologised to the family for their investigation failings which Chief Constable Jerry Graham said had fallen "well short" of the standard that should have been expected.

He added that it had hindered the "ability of legal proceedings charged with the responsibility of determining what happened to Poppi".

The Attorney General was later asked to instigate a new inquest, which is scheduled for later this year.

It is expected that Cumbria's Coroner David Roberts will call Mr Worthington to give evidence.