Protecting children

In the light of the dreadful murders in Soham, every parent must be asking the crucial question ...

No one living in Britain can fail to be aware of the horrific murders of the two Cambridgeshire schoolgirls, Jessica and Holly. The picture of them in their Manchester United strips has been dominant throughout our media and the nation is rightly horrified and shocked at the evil of those who perpetuated such a crime.

I have no wish to go into the details and the speculations about their untimely deaths - one of the most disturbing aspects of this story is the way in which every sordid detail has been reported in our press - however, I would like to reflect on the general issue of how we protect our children. I suspect that in the understandable general hysteria surrounding this case there are many parents who have wondered about how they can protect their children and whether there is anything that we can do to make them safer.