Ex-minister speaksof major blow

Former Home Office Minister Paul Goggins, who chaired the department's Task Force for Child Protection on the internet and launched Ceop in 2006, said: "Jim Gamble's resignation is a major blow."

He went on: “The achievements speak for themselves: over 5 million children educated to use the internet safely; over 600 children effectively safeguarded; over 1,100 offenders apprehended and many offender networks disrupted.”

Putting it into the National Crime Agency was a huge mistake, he added.