ONE man murdered Holly Wells and Jessica Chapman. Ian Huntley killed the two ten-year-old girls, a pitiless and horrific crime.

He is the only one to blame for their deaths. But others shoulder some responsibility for not identifying Huntley as a real danger to children before that fateful evening in Soham.

Like many predatory paedophiles, Huntley was a devious man. He had charmed his girlfriend Maxine Carr, he charmed the head teacher of Soham Village College at his interview for the caretaker's job, he even charmed some of the police during the initial stages of the investigation.

Huntley diverted them all from his past and his motives.

But he could not hide his history. Tragically Humberside police did that for him.

Huntley had been brought to the force's attention ten times. There were three allegations of rape, four of underage sex and one of indecent assault against him.

This pattern should have identified Huntley to detectives as a serious risk to children. Instead, in a shocking blunder, they wiped his records allowing him to walk into a job at a school down south.

Since Soham, the vetting system has been tightened. The Criminal Records Bureau now vets more than double the number of job applicants than before.

But as our feature on the opposite page demonstrates, there are still loopholes. It is not mandatory for local authorities to carry out an enhanced check on school support staff, needed to uncover allegations as well as convictions.

And the bureau is only as good as the information it receives from local police. As the Humberside force proved, this can be a fatal flaw in the system.

The inquiry set up by Home Secretary David Blunkett must look at these issues. As the Soham trial made clear, we can still do more to protect our children.

Updated: 10:34 Thursday, December 18, 2003