Few hiding places for Glitter

The return of the UK's most loathsome pop star is nothing tocelebrate, but it is a welcome reminder that our world is a smallerplace. And in this case, that's a very good thing.

Released from a Vietnamese jail and deported from that country,Gary Glitter was flown back to Britain at the weekend after beingunable to find sanctuary in a number of far Eastern countries. Thisweek he must sign the sex offenders' register in Britain.

To date, Glitter's criminal preying on children has been anillustration of how the world has shrunk for its more awful people.

Glitter's criminal career has known no borders. He was accused ofunderage sex in the UK (but not convicted), then jailed for havingpornographic images of children on his computer.

After his release, he moved to Spain. He then attempted to moveto Cuba, but when that was thwarted he disappeared in Cambodia.

There he was arrested on suspicion of further sexual offences,but was released and expelled as a threat to the national image ofCambodia.

Glitter eventually took his sordid life to Vietnam. Within ayear, he had been accused of molesting girls as young as 10. Anattempt to flee to Thailand, a country which is a notorious magnetfor sex offenders, failed.

At one stage in Vietnam, Glitter faced the death penalty, but thecharges against him were reduced. He was finally jailed in 2006 andsentenced to three years in prison.The families of his victimsaccepted payments from him and appealed for clemency. And so hisrelease has brought him back to the UK.

His criminality is an illustration of the way child molestershave expanded their evil horizons. The internet has given themglobal networks and the age of easy international travel has giventhem the ability to move from countries, like the UK, where there isincreased awareness and attention, to parts of the world offeringmore shadows for them to hide.

But Glitter's return, while not pleasing, is a victory for globalvigilance. He tried to do what he had done before - flee fromjustice - but failed spectacularly.

Now, barring a successful appeal, he will be required to sign thesex offenders' register. Among other things, that will require himto notify police if he leaves the country for more than three days.Any breach of that condition could see him jailed for five years.

That shows we can put constraints upon those who prey onchildren. This is a worldwide problem and needs worldwide attention.It's not enough to protect the children of the UK and Ireland fromthe likes of Glitter and ignore the fate of youngsters in the restof the world.

There is already abundant international cooperation to match theinternational offending and stamp out these vile crimes. Police worktogether to shut down the internet networks and ensure that Glitterand his ilk can be tracked down and restrained.

The world is smaller. And thankfully that means fewer hidingplaces.