Liberty's concerns are twofold - the readiness and accuracy of the data now and the suitability of the data long-term

John Wadham, director of Liberty:

LONG-TERM
"We have a real concern about the type of information the Criminal Records Bureau will be making available for some checks (an estimated 2.5 million per year) - which will go beyond simple details of previous convictions. The Criminal Records Bureau - and anyone else amassing such lists - must treat any non-conviction information with special care and not just collect rumour, tittle-tattle and innuendo.

"People should also have the chance to rebut this information. It's also an issue of respect for privacy (Article 8 Human Rights Act) - so any holding and distributing of this information must be justified and proportionate.

IMMEDIATE

"January's HMIC report on the Police National Computer - the source of CRB information - highlights concerns about the quality and workload of inputters, concerns over supervision, concerns over targets not met and the number of police forces whose data simply isn't ready yet. In such a climate, the accuracy of the information being rushed on to the system must remain a concern.

"The Home Affairs Select Committee and the Information Commissioner both raised concerns in 2001; we're not aware of any independent confirmation that those concerns have been fully addressed".