MORE than 95 per cent of Swindonians are in favour of new Home Office plans to reveal convictions to juries in child sex abuse cases.
But Greg Worrall, the boyfriend of Linda Razzell, of Highworth, who was murdered by her husband, Glyn, says Tony Blair has not gone far enough.
In Tuesday's Advertiser, people were asked in a phone poll if they think it is right juries should be told about previous convictions before the end of a trial.
The poll showed 95.8 per cent of Swindonians were in favour of the proposals, with only 4.2 per cent expressing the view juries should not be told about previous convictions.
Home Secretary David Blunkett announced on Monday he wants the new proposals to come into effect in mid-December.
If approved by MPs and the House of Lords, judges would be able to order that the offences be disclosed.
The situation will also apply to theft trials. In other cases, previous convictions will be disclosed when the current case bears similarities to previous offences.
At present, previous convictions are only admissible in rare cases.
South Swindon MP Julia Drown said: "I share the initial reaction that it makes sense for previous convictions to be divulged in court.
"However, this should not be a free-for-all as we need to guard the principle that people are innocent until proven guilty."
Mrs Razzell's estranged husband Glyn was convicted of killing her last year, after years of alleged abuse and Mr Worrall said: "I think Tony Blair is tinkering with the system as a way of getting votes. It is not enough.
"Why just child molesters and burglars? Why not violent men and wife beaters?"
Mr Worrall would like to see the Government making even more changes to the judicial system to make sure that justice is done.
He said: "What they need to do is have a legal representative for the victim, not just representatives for the Crown Prosecution Service. This would mean the victim would be able to approach the CPS if the case is not being handled properly."
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