NO2ID

http://www.thebookseller.com/news/107151-page.html

Pullman 'real fight remains to be fought'

17.12.09 Caroline Horn

Philip Pullman is the latest children's author to reaffirm his opposition to the government's controversial 'vetting and barring scheme' (VBS), despite changes announced earlier this week by the Independent Safeguarding Authority that largely exclude authors from having to be registered.

Pullman told The Bookseller: "It will make it easier for some people, like authors and illustrators, to do their jobs without interference from bungling nosey parkers. But the main objection remains, because the main objection was never to say 'Authors are special'. The main objection is that there is now in place a massive bureaucracy whose function is to enquire into the most private areas of people's lives."

...

Pullman said that the "real fight remains to be fought". He explained: "This authority [the ISA] is instructed to disregard the verdict of a court that decides someone is not guilty of an offence, and to decide instead that 'on the balance of probabilities, notwithstanding an acquittal at court', he was actually really guilty (Guidance Notes, 5.6.1)."

And he added: "In other words, they are taking a basic principle of English law and throwing it out of the window. That is the real wickedness of this legislation."

...

Good to see that Mr Pullman is now articulating the fundamental problems with ISA; some of his early objections sounded rather weak.