Comment from The Northern Echo - Protection a child's right

The brutal killing of Wesley Neailey, however, was carried out by a person known to the authorities.

It is hard to avoid the conclusion that this 11-year-old boy should still have been alive today.

We recognise that, with the tighter rules and regulations in place today, Wesley's killer would not have been allowed to be released without strict controls and supervision.

But that must not detract from the urgent need to examine what went wrong in this tragic case and to learn lessons from it.

It is evident that communications between the police and various agencies need to be improved.

Never again must known criminals such as Dominic McKilligan be allowed to integrate so freely into society. The right to rehabilitation must never put at risk the most vulnerable within our communities.

Social services departments and the police should not have to rely on legislation to enforce such a system of checks and controls. We expect good practice and common sense to prevail at all times.

Dreams come true

THE sagas of Wembley and Picketts Lock have tarnished the sporting dreams of our nation.

For inspiration and advice, the architects of these fiascos can do no better than look to the North-East.

A decade ago, Durham could boast only minor counties cricket. Today, it can proudly look forward to hosting Test matches.

Within ten years we have created from scratch one of the finest and most acclaimed sporting venues in the world.

Such a remarkable achievement shows that Government working parties and throwing public money at projects are no substitute for commitment, determination and hard work.

We salute those individuals who conceived Durham's cricketing dreams and have seen them through to fruition.

As a fitting reward it would be wonderful for them to see a Durham-born player take the field in a Test match in front of his home crowd.