THE man charged with hunting down internet paedophiles says the Government has a responsibility to protect people on the internet.

Jim Gamble, director of the Child Exploitation and Online Protection Centre, spoke at a conference at Huddersfield University.

He told the Examiner: “What I hope to do is put some perspective around the current debate about technology and child abuse.

“We have become seduced by the idea that it’s technology which causes the problem.

“But it’s not; it’s people. The internet is simply another public space and we have a duty to protect people there.”Mr Gamble is the first head of the centre, which was set up last year to catch people who download child pornography or groom children online for abuse.

He said the centre had brought 86 alleged sexual predators before the courts in its first year.

The centre, which works closely with police in Australia and the US, creates fake paedophile websites and puts undercover officers in online chatrooms posing as children.

But Mr Gamble said the centre’s focus had shifted already, due to the constantly evolving nature of the internet.

He said: “When we started last year instant messaging was the primary vehicle for grooming. But within months we had to come to terms with social networking sites.”

Mr Gamble said sites such as Facebook and Myspace had a duty to protect their younger users.

He added: “Social networking is a good thing and the sites are very engaging for young people.

“But anyone who operates such a site has a responsibility to make sure young people are well-informed.

“Self-regulation will only work if sites behave responsibly.”

Also speaking at the two-day conference, entitled Safeguarding Children, was Prof Nigel Parton of Huddersfield University.

He is the first and only academic to have been awarded a professorship by the NSPCC children’s charity.

Prof Parton spoke about the challenges faced by social workers.

He said: “High-profile cases like the murder of Moldgreen youngster Leticia Wright generate a lot of bad publicity and overshadow the good work that social workers do.

“It’s vital to keep people in these jobs. Their work is very important, but it is also extremely stressful.”