THE decision to grant Mary Bell and her daughter lifelong anonymity is right.

Whatever the past crimes of a parent, a child should not suffer because of it.

By allowing Mary Bell to be identified, her daughter would not be able to enjoy the normal life innocent people deserve.

Had Mary Bell been childless, however, her case for anonymity would have been less convincing.

In her ruling, Dame Elizabeth Butler Sloss confirms that freedom of expression outweighs protection of criminals. But she says there are exceptional features in this case.

Mary Bell was guilty of heinous crimes. Her crimes caused revulsion at the time, and still cause very painful memories for the families of her young victims.

We fully understand the families' reaction to the court ruling.

But we must remember that Mary Bell was only 11 at the time and a jury agreed there was diminished responsibility because of her childhood and upbringing.

Almost 35 years after her conviction it is reasonable for her to expect to be given the opportunity for full rehabilitation. Only anonymity gives her that chance and protects her from harassment, intrusion and possible physical attack.

However, it is Mary Bell herself who has weakened her case for anonymity.

By collaborating on a book about her life with author Gitta Sereny in 1998, Mary Bell chose to cash in on her notoriety and profit from the death of two children.

The book only served to add unnecessarily to the pain of the victims' loved ones.

Mary Bell brought herself to renewed public attention and can count herself very lucky that our legal system has chosen to continue to guarantee her privacy.

Chain reaction

THE case of the disappearance of the Mayor of Middlesbrough's chain of office is intriguing.

The fact that it was discovered in the town hall only a few yards from where it disappeared suggests this was no ordinary crime.

Ray Mallon's contention that the thief's motive was to embarrass him and the council is plausible, and should be the subject of the fullest investigation by both the town hall and Cleveland Police.