Reid unveils paedophiles proposals

Families will be given information about paedophiles who may pose a specific threat to their children, under plans unveiled by the Government.

Home Secretary John Reid said the move - which will install a "presumption" for police to tell a mother if her partner is a sex offender - was part of a "radical" package to protect youngsters.

Other elements include trials of drugs which can reduce the sex drive of known paedophiles, more satellite tracking, and increasing use of lie detectors to check whether those freed are not reoffending.

However, the plans were widely perceived to have fallen short of what was originally signalled by the Home Office. Unlike under Megan's Law in the US, communities will not have free access to information about paedophiles in their area.

Instead, parents and guardians will be able to request details on someone with whom they have a personal relationship, and who has unsupervised access to their children.

If the individual is a convicted paedophile, there will be a "presumption" for police to disclose unless there are exceptional circumstances. But any parent who passed the information on to others would be committing a public order offence.

Mr Reid said: "We are taking some radical steps in what we are doing but it's possible to take radical steps with a degree of caution."

He voiced agreement with probation officers and support groups who have warned that Megan's Law had not proved effective in tackling paedophilia, and may have driven some offenders underground.

He also suggested the new system could be known as "Sarah's Law" in memory of eight-year-old Sarah Payne, who was murdered by paedophile Roy Whiting in July 2000. Her mother, Sara Payne, has fought a high-profile campaign for information on potential predators to be freely available.

"The idea that we wanted to adopt Megan's Law was never put forward by us," Mr Reid insisted. "What we did want to do was address the campaign that Sara Payne put forward amongst others. If someone wants to call that Sarah's Law, then I am delighted for her."