Online child protection chief quits

Jim Gamble, the chief executive of the £11m a year Ceop sent a letter of resignation to Theresa May, the home secretary, reports the Guardian . He had previously warned May that plans to merge his unit with the Serious and Organised Crime Agency and the UK Border Agency would undermine attempts to keep children safe from paedophiles and other internet abusers. Ceop claims to have disrupted or dismantled 262 sex offender networks since 2006; inquiries by its online investigations have led to more than 1,000 arrests. The National Crime Agency is due to be launched in 2013, but Ceop sources told the Guardian there were growing fears that child safety would be a low priority alongside organised crime and border policing. Gamble has argued that online child safety is so important that it requires its own dedicated force.