A packed Committee Room at the House of Commons on the 19th of November 2002 heralded the dawn of a new era! Well, maybe that's a bit of an exaggeration but the launch of our national information line was a resounding success and we couldn't have packed in more people if we had tried. As expected, Deidre Sanders chaired the meeting with her usual style and presence. She introduced our guests including Jacqui Smith MP the Minister of State at the Department of Health, Hilton Dawson MP (who kindly arranged the venue), Ray Wyre, Chris Cloke from the NSPCC and Peter Calderbank from BSS. All spoke with great enthusiasm and support for what has been achieved and it was left to Gill (Chair of Trustees) and Peter Saunders (Founder of NAPAC) to really bring the message home that NAPAC is here to stay and by hook or by crook we will find the additional funds needed to sustain the info line well into the 21st Century.

Peter Saunders was interviewed by Granada TV before the launch and by BBC News 24 afterwards where he was asked to comment on the Governments' latest proposals to deal with child abusers and rapists. During the next four days he did a further four BBC local radio interviews and the launch was featured in The Big Issue and Third Sector Magazine. More press coverage is expected to follow as the media learn that in the first two weeks of operation the info line received more than one thousand five hundred calls!! Watch this space.

19/11/2002