When Ben Butler walked free from the Court of Appeal in 2010 having had his conviction for harming his baby daughter quashed, he was triumphant.

Three years after little Ellie had almost died from a brain injury while in her father’s care, the judiciary had officially absolved him of any blame and he was determined to bask in the moment.

Feeling he was on a roll and keen to exploit a misplaced wave of public sympathy, Butler employed the dubious services of the now disgraced PR guru, Max Clifford, and set about trying to persuade the authorities to hand his daughter back.

Touring TV studios he gave tear jerking interviews about his harrowing time on a prison paedophile wing, and spoke about the spirit crushing agony of being separated from the little girl he adored.

While he may have been cleared of grievous bodily harm on a technicality, the London Borough of Sutton was determined to deny him long term custody of his daughter, fearing she would never be safe in his care.

Tragically it was a fear that was realised in October 2013, when just 11 months after he won an epic custody battle, Butler murdered his daughter, leaving her with injuries experts likened to those one might suffer in a high speed car crash.