The Humberside police say that they had to delete the claims about Huntley having sex with underage girls and raping women because of the Act, but that is only their interpretation of the law. It is possible that even if they had retained all the information they had on both, Huntley might still have failed to pass it on to the Cambridgeshire police, but it probably should have been there in the first place.In the light of the murders of Holly Wells and Jessica Chapman, there is a compelling argument for a review of the data protection law, if only to ensure its consistent application. There are serious civil liberties issues here that have to be confronted, even in the wake of such an emotionally charged event as the trial of Huntley and Carr.It cannot be right for an innocent person to be refused a job on the grounds of, perhaps, a single, uncorroborated, unproven and possibly malicious allegation. It is true that, had the authorities at Soham Village College known about Huntley’s past, they would never have employed him, and Holly and Jessica would probably still be alive. But the harsh truth is that, wherever he was, Huntley would have continued to molest young girls and would probably eventually have killed in any case.Holly and Jessica were in the wrong place at the wrong time, as Mr Chapman said, but some other girls would sooner or later have found themselves in the same position.. There’s no arguing with the figures. Many traditional British breeds of dog have indeed been declining, swamped in public favour by non-indigenous breeds; some seem near to vanishing-point.

The Cardigan corgi, for instance, is becoming scarce, in spite of the Queen’s patronage, and there are only four breeders left in Wales. The Sussex spaniel and the Sealyham terrier are others on the danger-list

There’s no arguing with the figures. A few enthusiasts have plans to return it (and possibly the bear and the lynx) to the Highlands, in an attempt to restore the original fauna, a remote but maybe not impossible idea.As a labrador owner, I prefer dogs to be useful, whatever their origin. Any creature which will find game, guard your premises, sniff out drugs or weapons, or guide a blind person, any breed that enjoys such jobs is far preferable to some dimwit such as a dalmatian, whose only function is to look beautiful.At present, my Jemima is curled up on the sitting-room sofa, looking as soft as a pool of black treacle; but if you had seen her bring a wounded fallow buck to bay in the middle of a river at dawn the other morning, you would never again criticise her, either for being lazy, or for deriving from a far country.. The damage this creature has caused is beyond calculation, hounding out native red squirrels and destroying millions of pounds worth of timber.Mink, American crayfish and muntjac deer have all got loose and become a menace in their various ways The animal now exercising many minds is the wolf. The most pernicious import has been the grey squirrel, brought here as an amusing novelty in the 1860s. Most owners are as capricious as their pets, and any attempt to make them more patriotic in canine selection is doomed.

Certain facts need to be borne in mind, among them that our most popular breeds, such as labradors are not British at all. If any British breed becomes seriously threatened, owners will pool their resources to save it But I see no harm in importing exotic types. Provided they are kept under control, dogs do little damage; even if they are turned loose by callous owners, they are generally soon rounded up because they cannot fend for themselves, unlike the big cats – pumas, lynxes and leopards – which have taken up residence in the wilder parts of the realm.Nor are exotic dogs like alien species of wildlife, which can cause havoc if established in the countryside. The latest issue of Country Life makes no secret of its feelings about the ever-rising tide of filthy foreigners “Rally round!” the venerable magazine cries. “Breed British, or risk losing part of our inheritance.”Such exhortations are futile.