Ministers mull sex offenders appeal

The test cases of teenager "F", who cannot be identified, and an adult, Angus Thompson, went before three judges at the High Court in London.

Lord Justice Latham, Mr Justice Underhill and Mr Justice Flaux held that the current registration scheme wrongly denied them the chance to prove in a review that they no longer posed a risk of reoffending.

The judges ruled both applicants were entitled to declarations that the scheme was incompatible with their Article 8 right to private and family life under the European Convention on Human Rights.

A spokesman for the Home Office said: "We are extremely disappointed with the High Court judgment and are now considering an appeal.

"The UK has one of the most robust systems of managing sex offenders in the world. The notification requirements form an important part of this system. They provide an invaluable tool to the authorities in allowing the police to keep track of the whereabouts of individual sex offenders and managing the risk of known sex offenders."

Lord Justice Latham said it might well be that any right of review "should be tightly subscribed in the public interest".

He warned that an offender might find it very difficult to establish that he no longer presented any risk of re-offending.

"But I find it difficult to see how it could be justifiable in Article 8 terms to deny a person who believes himself to be in that position an opportunity to seek to establish it."

Lawyers for both applicants had argued they should be entitled to attempt to come off the register and stop having to notify the police of their personal details, including whether they intended to travel abroad.