Megan's law 'won't be used in Britain'

Naming and shaming paedophiles and telling parents where they live - the system used in the US - will not be introduced in this country.

Mr Sutcliffe, addressing delegates at a fringe meeting at the Labour Party conference, said he had no intention of imposing the American-style regulations in Britain.

Charged with exploring "Megan's Law" - brought in after the rape and killing of Megan Kanka by a child molester in the United States - Mr Sutcliffe visited America to observe how protocols were carried out.

But yesterday he said: "We are not interested in Megan's Law in the UK. It does not work and will not work here, but what is important is the issues surrounding it are looked at in a very serious way, although we have no intention of looking at Megan's Law immediately here."

The last time the Home Office examined the issue was after the death of Sarah Payne, in 2000, who was abducted and murdered by Roy Whiting.

The conclusion reached at that time was that it would be inappropriate to have personal details of sex offenders on any public register.

But Mr Sutcliffe said public confidence needed to be rebuilt and he was aware when he moved to the Home Office in Tony Blair's biggest reshuffle that the primary aim was to rebuild assurance and focus on public protection.

He told the meeting that 80 per cent of sex offenders are known to families and it was the 20 per cent that caused concern.

He said: "These people are predators and get alongside a single mother, get involved with the person and then begin the abuse and the question that has not been answered for me is, Where does that mother go when she knows she has a problem?' "It only takes one major incident for the public to lose confidence."

Detective Inspector Chris Stones, head of the child and public protection unit in Bradford, said registered sex offenders were already monitored pro-actively and vigorously by police in the district.

He said: "You can never have enough resources but I am happy that what we have got in place is enough to achieve the right results."

Det Insp Stones said Megan's Law was a national police issue but agreed it could increase the risk of sexual abuse from strangers if offenders were forced underground.

He said: "The big fear for me is that if we don't know where these people are, how can we monitor and manage them?

"If we don't know where they are it automatically follows the risk level would be higher.

"It is a very emotive issue and I can understand why people are concerned. But if people move around and we don't know where they are, how can we protect the public of Bradford and West Yorkshire?"

He said a lot of the managing of sex offenders went unseen by the public.

Mary Marsh, director and chief executive of the NSPCC, said she was concerned about the false sense of security Megan's Law would have provided. She said: "People may think it would make their children safer but there is no evidence."

The Government was previously warned by the office of the Children's Commission that children could be in greater danger from paedophiles.

Claire Philips, director of policy at the office of the Children's Commissioner, said: "Introducing a version of Megan's Law in the UK would do nothing to help parents keep their children safe from sex offenders. In fact, it could increase the risk of sexual abuse from strangers as offenders could be forced underground after being released into the community, making it more difficult for authorities to monitor them."

Mr Sutcliffe was sent to the US in July after Home Secretary John Reid signalled a major policy shift, deciding that parents could be informed of the whereabouts of sex offenders.

Mr Reid also ordered the removal of 60 convicted sex offenders from hostels close to schools.

The move followed a newspaper investigation which found 11 hostels housing paedophiles close to schools.

Speaking at the time, Mr Sutcliffe said there are no hostels where paedophiles are housed next to schools in Bradford.

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