In essence, I'm being asked to pay £64 to prove that I am not a paedophile

Dear All

The sinister creep of the state continues with measures to have everyone put on a database and be vetted.

The latest sinister idea is to put authors who visit schools to be subject to vetting.

It is getting ridiculous now.

Several high-profile authors are to stop visiting schools in protest at new laws requiring them to be vetted to work with youngsters. Philip Pullman, author of fantasy trilogy His Dark Materials, said the idea was "ludicrous and insulting".

And it surely is as Pullman and others would be in the company of registered teachers through-out their time.

Other authors such as Anne Fine and Michael Morpurgo have also hit out at the scheme which costs £64 per person. In order to sell this outrage, officials say the checks have been misunderstood and authors will only need them if they go to schools often.

As always these types of measures have one purpose to move society in Britain towards I.D Cards which will eventually contain information which will affect employment chances.

The Home Office says the change from October will help protect children but that as always is smoke and mirrors.

Anyone who has "regular" or "intense" contact with children or vulnerable adults will have to sign up to the Vetting and Barring Scheme before November 2010.

What about children who go to the shops or McDonalds, why is the fuss centring on schools when there are multiple places which children are more exposed to risk.

It would appear to me that this is a strategy, a much wider strategy by government.

Anthony Horowitz, author of the popular Alex Rider series sums up the situation in one damning sentence;

"In essence, I'm being asked to pay £64 to prove that I am not a paedophile”.

After I.D cards have been shelved the government is seeking new measures to get the entire population on databases so that they can be monitored, this story is an example of how the Big Brother state works.

Finally; the Home Office says various new regulations will have meant that more than five million more jobs and voluntary posts including most NHS positions will be subject to checks.

In other words, further measures are to be put in place to bar sections of society from employment without due process of law.

Yours sincerely

George Laird
The Campaign for Human Rights at Glasgow University