Mr Justice Supperstone may have declared the use of child spies ‘lawful’ but I am not at all convinced. Irrespective of  whether this practice is deemed lawful or not, it is without a shadow of doubt plain wrong.

In the words of  Enver Solomon, the CEO of Just for Kids Law, the charity that brought the legal case, ‘the judgment acknowledges the “very significant risk of physical and psychological harm to children” and a variety of dangers that arise from their use as covert informants in the context of serious crime.’