Childline founder Esther Rantzen has attacked the Independent Safeguarding Authority (ISA), saying it was damaging to the national psyche, which puts children at risk. This isn’t an argument from an activist, a blogger or an opposition politician – this is from a woman whose credentials in child protection are beyond reproach.

“Most abused children suffer at home, at the hands of people very close to them; the risk provided by strangers is minimal.”

And she’s right – blanketing the entire population with the suspicion that they might be paedophiles is damaging the national psyche, and is already putting children at risk. Wes Cuell, director of services for children and young people for the NSPCC, added:

“The warning signs are now out there that this scheme will stop people doing things that are perfectly safe and normal, things that they shouldn’t be prevented from doing.

“When you get this degree of public outcry there is generally a good reason for it. I think we are getting a bit too close to crossing the line about what is acceptable in the court of public opinion. We don’t want to throw the baby out with the bathwater.”

Mr Cuell said that while it was important to strengthen rules to protect children from potential sex offenders, over zealous interpretation of such rules could threaten the civil liberties of thousands.

When leading child protection charities themselves start calling for an end to this madness of trying to use a bureaucracy to obliterate all risk for children and ‘vulnerable adults’, it suggests something really needs to be done. Interestingly Iain Dale has discovered that the likely next Home Secretary Chris Grayling is already reviewing the possibility of abolishing the ISA. How sickening a legacy it would be for Alan Johnson, Jack Straw and Gordon Brown – all progressive politicians once – to leave behind next summer. We shouldn’t have to wait for the Tories – the ISA must be abolished now – there is no time to waste.

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