Head of online child protection body resigns

THE head of the UK's online child protection agency has stepped down following a disagreement with the government over the body's future.

Last night it was announced that Home Secretary Theresa May had accepted the resignation of Jim Gamble, chief executive of the Child Exploitation and Online Protection (CEOP) Centre.

This follows concern over plans to incorporate CEOP into a new National Crime Agency. It is believed Mr Gamble thought the move would take away CEOP's independence.

CEOP is affiliated to the Serious Organised Crime Agency (SOCA). It is believed Mr Gamble was keen on gaining more independence for the agency rather than letting it become part of a greater National Crime Agency.

But ministers were not keen on seeing the creation of "another quango", sources said last night.

In a statement CEOP said "The Child Exploitation and Online Protection Centre does not feel it is in the best interests of children and young people for CEOP to be assimilated into the National Crime Agency, as was announced a short while ago.

"This direction of travel does not seem to have changed and CEOP's CEO, Jim Gamble, has therefore offered his resignation to the Home Secretary."

CEOP was set up in 2006 tasked with tracking online paedophiles and bringing them to court. Mr Gamble led calls for Facebook to set up a "panic button" to reassure young users. The application has been downloaded tens of thousands of times since being launched in July.

Last night Ms May said: "As chief executive Jim Gamble has made a huge contribution to protecting children."