One of the key recommendations made by Sir Michael Bichard was thecreation of a single list of people deemed unsuitable to work withchildren. This would eliminate the confusion and loopholes caused by theseven different lists that currently exist.
Despite this confusion, it is still astonishing that someone cautionedfor accessing child pornography - and in accepting the caution admittedat least some guilt - was cleared to work in schools.
It is true that Ruth Kelly and her junior ministers have been applying asystem that has existed under successive governments, in which ministersare required to personally consider "borderline" cases for inclusion onList 99.
Nevertheless, it is hard to see how Department for Education and Skillsministers can escape at least some of the blame for serious misjudgmentin this case.
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