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Madeleine
McCann's parents have joined calls to rethink child
protection plans |
Missing
Madeleine McCann's
parents have joined the chorus of concerns
about the Government's child protection policies after a top policeman
quit in protest at plans to curtail his agency's independence.
Kate and
Gerry McCann said it was "extremely saddening" that
Jim Gamble
felt he had to resign as chief executive of the Child Exploitation and
Online Protection (Ceop) Centre.
They
urged ministers to remember the importance of the "invaluable work"
carried out by his organisation to protect children against abduction
and abuse.
Mr
Gamble believes plans to assimilate Ceop into a new National Crime
Agency are not in the "best interest" of vulnerable children.
The
McCanns have a close working relationship with Mr Gamble, who last year
launched a new internet video aimed at pricking the conscience of the
key witness who knows what happened to Madeleine when she vanished in
Portugal in 2007, aged three.
Mr
and Mrs McCann said in a statement: "We are certain that he will be a
huge loss to the field of child protection. Knowing how committed Mr
Gamble is to this cause, it is extremely saddening that he feels unable
to continue to lead Ceop, apparently as a consequence of the proposed
Governmental changes.
They
added: "In this challenging economic climate, we urge the Government to
remember the value of our children and the importance of the invaluable
work which is necessary to protect them against the devastating crimes
of child abduction and exploitation."
The
Association of Chief Police Officers (Acpo) said it was "in firm
support" of Ceop remaining as a stand-alone agency, while shadow home
secretary
Alan
Johnson went further, saying the Government's plans "will
harm child safety networks".
"Their lack of consultation has led to the resignation of Mr Gamble, who
is highly respected within and outside of the organisation he served so
well. His expertise will be badly missed," he said.
But
Home Secretary
Theresa May
defended the move, saying: "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."
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