Runaway teacher, pupil exposes law risk
There are fears a new law would keep runaway cases such as that of 15-year-old Megan Stammers secret, Graeme Paton and Martin Evans write.
THE maths teacher who disappeared with one of his 15-year-old pupils might not have been identified to the public under controversial laws that come into force in Britain next week.
The public, the media and even the police could be banned from automatically naming teachers in cases such as that in which Jeremy Forrest, 30, fled the country with his pupil, Megan Stammers, it has emerged.
From Monday, anyone who names a staff member the subject of a criminal allegation by or on behalf of a child could face prosecution or a £5000 (NZ$9700) fine.
The power, enshrined in the 2011 Education Act, is being introduced to protect innocent teachers against malicious claims from pupils and parents, but critics fear that the legislation has gone too far and will hamper investigations and stifle free speech.
Police chiefs, politicians and senior lawyers specialising in media have criticised the law, with some warning that it could hamper missing person investigations, such as the one involving Megan.
The anonymity law is automatically imposed whenever criminal allegations are made against teachers and would only be lifted when charges were brought or an arrest warrant was issued.
The media would have been unable to name Forrest, the teacher involved in Megan’s disappearance, until Tuesday, when an arrest warrant was issued.
Anyone who wishes to force the banning order to be lifted, including the police, will have to make an application to a magistrate, creating what senior detectives believe could be a crucial time delay.
Last night Sussex Police confirmed that the hunt for Forrest and Megan had gone Europe-wide amid fears that the pair could have fled beyond France.
Forrest’s father, Jim, appealed for his son to let people know Megan was safe. He said: ‘‘There are a lot of people back home that are desperate to hear from you. All I am asking is for one of you to make a call, send an email, so we know you are both safe.’’
Forrest, who taught maths at Bishop Bell Church of England School in Eastbourne, East Sussex, was last seen boarding a Dover-to-Calais ferry with Megan more than a week ago.
Officers mistakenly believed that Forrest and Megan would re- turn to Britain on Sunday. It was only when they realised that this was not the case that they applied for the arrest warrant.
The delay meant French authorities did that the not have the power to hold Forrest over the disappearance until that point.
There had been criticism of the French response to the case, especially after a state prosecutor warned that nothing would be done to ‘‘actively search’’ for the pair. At 15, Megan is over the age of consent in France. It was also a missing persons appeal, not a criminal case, according to the prosecutor. That changed last night when French authorities launched a criminal inquiry, which meant that Forrest, who is wanted on suspicion of child abduction, would be deported if detained.