A NINE-YEAR-OLD girl was denied the right to sue the government yesterday for failing to press for her father’s release from death row in Ethiopia.

The High Court rejected the request for a judicial review into the government’s handling of the case of Andargachew Tsege, known as Andy, a British citizen and leading critic of Ethiopia’s government, which has sentenced him to death.

Lawyers for his nine-year old daughter Menabe argued that the government’s refusal to demand her father’s release was unlawful, but a judge found that its approach to the case was neither irrational nor unlawful.

Mr Justice Mitting ruled the challenge “unarguable” and said: “This claim serves no purpose whatsoever.”

The Foreign Office’s repeated requests to the Ethiopian government for it to allow Mr Tsege legal representation have so far been ignored.

“The Foreign Secretary has made it clear to Foreign Minister Tedros that Mr Tsege must be given access to legal representation, as agreed by Prime Minister Hailemariam in June,” a Foreign Office spokesperson said.

“We will press the Ethiopians … until they follow through on this commitment.”