Too much information

How far is Labour prepared to go to hide the true level of access to the children's database ContactPoint? The Department for Children, Schools and Families ministers Lord Adonis and Kevin Brennan have told both chambers of parliament that "the number of users is estimated to be around 330,000."

That seemed a very large figure, but a report running on The Register – a reliable news breaker – suggests that one million people will be able to access details concerning the child's name, date of birth, address, school and information about parents or legal guardian.

If this report is true – and there is every reason to believe it is – ContactPoint, which launches in January and is being talked up by the government and its allies in the wake of the Baby P case, represents a far greater risk to children than was previously thought. As Professor Ross Anderson of Cambridge has shown, there's no possibility that a database with this level of access can remain secure.