Responding to the papers 'Every Child Matters' and 'Keeping Children Safe', Mark Littlewood, Liberty's Campaigns Director, said:

"Of course, everyone wants to see steps taken to ensure there is never again a Victoria Climbie tragedy. But serious questions need to be asked about whether the government's proposals will do anything to improve security, or whether they will merely undermine the privacy of the children and parents who will be recorded in this enormous new database. It is extremely doubtful that casting the net this wide is a sensible use of resources. We need to target our efforts and focus our work more carefully on those who really are at risk, rather than collating extensive files on every child and family in the country. There need to be proper safeguards and guarantees about exactly who can access the information, how long it will be stored for and how its accuracy can be challenged. Surely, better training for those who work professionally with children would be a more sensible way to do business. There is a real risk that supposition piled upon rumour and supplemented by wild gueeswork will be the new way of trying to guarantee our children's safety."