Overview
- Hertsmere Borough Council has authorised a prosecution under section 3(1) of the Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974 following a multi-year investigation into the death at Mini Learners nursery.
- Two-year-old Sadie Salt is reported to have choked on a sausage while eating lunch with about 25 other children at the Radlett nursery on 12 November 2020 and died in hospital two days later.
- An inquest into Sadie’s death was opened and then adjourned in 2022 and remains pending while the criminal process moves forward.
- Sadie’s parents, represented by Leigh Day lawyer Jill Paterson, said they are grateful for the investigation and asked that the legal process be allowed to run its course as they continue to seek answers.
- The prosecution is likely to intensify scrutiny of nursery food policies, backing a campaign by Sadie’s family to stop serving high-risk items such as sausages and grapes to under-fives and could prompt wider regulatory or practice changes.