Home secretary, Alan Johnson, has appointed a leading lawyer to advise Whitehall on how it should use information on criminality, following concerns that public bodies still fail to consult each other effectively. Sunita Mason, former director of legal services for the National Youth Advocacy Service, will advise ministers and officials ‘on how to improve the sharing of information about criminals between key government departments and frontline agencies,' the Home Office announced on 4 September. Despite improvements in recent years, concerns still linger that bodies such as police authorities and the Home Office do not always share information on individuals effectively with major departments or other agencies. Famously, police forces were chastised by Sir Michael Bichard for their failure to share allegations of criminality against former school caretaker Ian Huntley, who went on to commit the murders of school girls Holly Wells and Jessica Chapman in Soham, Cambridgeshire, in 2002. That incident, and others, led to widespread calls for centralised databases on criminals, accessible to all public bodies, but legal concerns have both limited such projects and led to confusion over what can be shared and by whom. Information relating to criminality and children is particularly sensitive, but Ms Mason has a strong background in the sector as a member of the Law Society's children panel. Home Office officials claim widespread reforms since the Soham case have led to improvements, but sources close to Mr Johnson said he ‘wants to set the bar higher across Whitehall'. Mr Johnson said: ‘The Government is dedicated to protecting the public and that is why we are improving the way we collect, share and use information to tackle crime.' The appointment of an independent government adviser was a commitment made by the Home Office following Sir Ian Magee's review of criminality information. In a related issue, Mr Johnson has ‘freed' a suspected terrorist from a controversial control order in order to avoid being forced to disclose secret, intelligence-based evidence against him.
