Children
could be at more risk from paedophiles under plans to merge a child
protection body with the new national crime agency, ministers were
warned yesterday.
The
parents of
Madeleine McCann joined police chiefs and
Sara Payne
in voicing concerns over the plans for the Child Exploitation and Online
Protection Centre (Ceop).
Jim Gamble,
the centre's head, this week announced he was quitting in protest at the
merger, which he believes would leave children more vulnerable.
The
growing condemnation last night piled pressure on
Theresa May,
the Home Secretary, but she stood firm in her intention to merge Ceop
with the National Crime Agency.
Kate and
Gerry McCann urged ministers to remember the importance of
the "invaluable work" carried out by Ceop while
Alan Johnson,
the former Home Secretary, said the move would "harm child safety
networks".
Sara Payne,
campaigner and mother of murdered eight-year-old schoolgirl Sarah, said
she was "disgusted" by the Government's actions and the Association of
Chief Police Officers (Acpo) said the body should remain stand alone.
Mr
Gamble quit as Ceop chief executive on Monday warning the plans were not
in the "best interest" of vulnerable children.
His
decision sparked widespread criticism of the Home Office and concerns
that children will not be as well protected from those looking to groom
them online.
Mr and
Mrs McCann said in a statement: "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.
"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."
Mrs
Payne, Shy Keenan and Fiona Crook – who jointly set up the campaign
group the Phoenix Foundation – said: "We cannot begin to describe how
disgusted we are with our own Government for betraying him and for
betraying all of our children.
"This
cannot be allowed to happen, we must stand up and fight, we must do what
is right for the protection of our children against the crimes of
paedophiles."
Ms
Keenan added: "The Government has already severely diluted child
protection services. Deconstructing one of this country's most
effective, cutting-edge, child protection-focused centres is not in the
best interest of our children, full stop."
The
Association of Chief Police Officers (Acpo) said it was "in firm
support" of Ceop remaining as a stand-alone agency.
Maggie
Atkinson, the Children's Commissioner for England, warned that Ceop
could be lost in the new organisation and that vulnerable young people
would be less willing to approach it for help.
Ceop was
set up in 2006 tasked with tracking online paedophiles and bringing them
to court.
It is
currently affiliated to the Serious Organised Crime Agency (Soca).
But
under Government plans, the agency will become part of a new National
Crime Agency in 2013.
As Ceop
chief executive, Mr Gamble led calls for Facebook to set up a "panic
button" to give reassurance for young users. The application has been
downloaded tens of thousands of times since being launched in July.
A Home
Office spokesman denied there were any plans to undermine the work of
Ceop, saying child protection "will always be an absolute priority for
the Government".
"We
propose to build on Ceop's invaluable work tackling sexual exploitation
of children by placing it centre-stage in the fight against all forms of
serious and organised crime," he said.
"We are
determined that plans for the National Crime Agency will enhance all our
capabilities, and discussions are ongoing about how that will be done."
The
spokesman added: "Ceop already delivers excellent work as part of the
Serious Organised Crime Agency and the Government is clear this work
must continue." |