The baby Elsa found in the shopping bag is the third child abandoned by the same parents

A baby girl found in a shopping bag in London this year is the third child abandoned by the same parents, it can now be said.

Baby ‘Elsa’ was found in Newham by a dog walker on January 18 in sub-zero temperatures. DNA tests established that Elsa is the sibling of two babies, a boy and a girl, found in very similar circumstances in 2017 and 2019.

Despite calls from the Metropolitan Police, their parents have not been identified. The BBC and PA Media applied to the East London Family Court to vary reporting restrictions to allow reporting of the siblings’ bond. Judge Carol Atkinson ruled that the restrictions should be lifted to allow the relationship between the children to be reported, saying it was needed for “open justice”.

DNA tests revealed that little Elsa has a brother and sister, known as Baby Harry and Baby Roman.

Elsa was believed to be less than an hour old when she was found abandoned in a shopping bag at the junction of the Greenway and High Street South in East Ham in January. The hospital staff named her Elsa, after the main character in the Disney animated film Frozen, because she was discovered in the cold.

Her sister Roman was found in similar circumstances in a play area off Roman Road, Newham, in early February 2019 as freezing temperatures and snow gripped the capital. In September 2017, Harry was found wrapped in a blanket in Balaam Street, Plaistow.

Judge Atkinson said: “There is a clear public interest in reporting this story.

“Abandonment of a child in this country is a very, very unusual event and there are years when there are no abandoned children and because of that the story of a child being abandoned is of public interest.” She added: “For the same reason, in our society, of enormous interest and importance, people know that there is a mother and a father out there who have felt the need to give up their children in this way, three times, and that is of considerable interest, it seems to me.”

Police said previous appeals issued in the case remained active.

Officers had previously appealed for help to identify a woman seen wearing a large dark coat with a light colored scarf or hood around her neck and carrying a backpack shortly before Elsa was found.

Detectives said they believed they might hold important information about how Elsa got to where she was found.

Met director Jamie Humm said: “We understand the significant public interest that will come from lifting the restrictions that allow this information to be reported. It is significant news and our work has been focused on trying to locate the mother and provide her with support.

“We have been working 24/7 in each of these three cases to identify the parents, so far without success.

“We also had to be mindful of the sensitivities that exist now, all children are looked after. Their well-being, including their privacy, is paramount.

“We are continuing to investigate and will consider the next steps in our investigation.”

Only certain details about the three children can be reported. Harry and Roman – not their real names – have since been adopted.

But Kate Claxton KC, representing Newham Council, previously told the court that the ongoing investigation meant Elsa’s birth could not be registered, meaning no final decision could be made about her care.

Another hearing in her case is expected to take place at a later date.

While journalists can usually attend family court proceedings, reporting restrictions limit what can be published to protect the anonymity of those involved. A pilot scheme to increase transparency in the family court system was extended this year to allow accredited journalists and legal bloggers to report on cases in 16 courts in England and Wales.