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STEPPING DOWN: Jim Gamble, who resigned over plans to
incorporate Ceop into a National Crime Agency |
A
MOVE to end the independence of an agency tasked with combating online
paedophiles was last night criticised by victims’ families.
The family of murdered
Darlington teenager Ashleigh Hall
joined the parents of missing
Madeleine McCann
and
Sara Payne,
mother of murdered eight-year-old Sarah, in criticising moves to
incorporate the Child Exploitation and Online Protection (Ceop) into a
new National Crime Agency.
The
proposal has led to Ceop chief executive
Jim Gamble resigning.
Ceop
led a campaign for Facebook to install a “panic button” to give
reassurance to young users.
The
campaign was stepped up after the murder of 17-yearold Ashleigh at the
hands of sex offender Peter Chapman, who groomed her on the internet.
Mike
Hall, Ashleigh’s grandfather, said: “Ceop was running well and did not
need messing with – they were just starting to get things done.”
Darlington MP Jenny Chapman, who was Ashleigh’s ward councillor, said
the Government’s proposal would “put internet safety back years”.
She
said: “Ceop has punched above its weight and I think it needs to be kept
as a specialist organisation.”
Internet safety expert John Steel leads the learning technologies team
at Darlington Borough Council.
He
said: “I am worried that if Ceop becomes part of a serious crime
organisation, it will become a backroom activity.
“Jim
Gamble was a huge driving force in educating people in internet safety
and the fact that he has gone is a tragedy.”
In a statement, Mrs Payne, Shy Keenan and Fiona
Crook – who set up the campaign
group the Phoenix Foundation to help the victims of abuse – said: ‘‘This
is the worst possible news and a devastating blow for UK child
protection.”
Mr
and Mrs McCann have also criticised the proposal.
But
Home Secretary
Theresa May
defended the move, saying the country did not
need a “new quango” to carry out child protection work.
She
said: “The Government recognises the importance of child protection and
wants to build upon the work of Ceop, but does not necessarily feel this
is best done by creating a new quango.”
Following Ashleigh’s death, The Northern Echo set up the Safety Net
campaign, which called for tougher controls on social networking sites |