If it comes out and my picture appears and I'm outed, chances are I'm a dead man

Convicted paedophile

Before the meeting Paul Cavadino, of the National Association for the Care and Resettlement of Offenders (Nacro), said: "We are hoping to reach common ground on our stated aim and their stated aim of reducing the risk to children.

"We will be talking both about their campaign and about other ways of reducing the risks to the public of sex offenders."

Arriving for the meeting just before 1300 BST, Michael and Sara Payne, reiterated their support for the campaign.

Mrs Payne said: "We have got lots of points we want to put over, hopefully we will hear all sides of the argument.

"We are just trying to fight for Sarah. We are totally behind the campaign and have got lots of points to add to it."

The News of the World is being warned that the campaign will result in driving known paedophiles underground, making them more difficult to police.

One convicted paedophile, jailed for indecently assaulting under-aged boys, told BBC Two's Newsnight programme that the campaign terrified him.

"I felt like vomiting," he said. "There's no other way to describe it. If it comes out and my picture appears and I'm outed, chances are I'm a dead man."

The News of the World says it has urged its readers not to resort to acts of vigilantism.

But already men who have been mistaken for paedophiles have been attacked by angry neighbours in Plymouth and Manchester.

Mistaken identity

And a report by the Association of Chief Officers of Probation found that offenders were more likely to go underground and become more desperate.

One example is the case of Stephen Featherstone, of Billingham on Teesside, a swimming instructor convicted of indecently assaulting girls.

While awaiting sentence Featherstone fled abroad and, having been named in the paper, police fear they may not ever get him back.

Sarah's parents say campaign is not about violence

Two other Stephen Featherstones in Billingham have also had to point out that they are not the paedophile named in the paper.

Mark Leech, chairman of the Unlock, the national association of ex-offenders, said he broadly agreed with the principle that sex offenders should be named.

He said because paedophiles were driven by a sexual urge they did not deserve anonymity after a prison sentence.

"Children need to be protected," he said on Newsnight.

Sexual urge

He agreed that all the professionals who work with sex offenders were united against the News of the World's campaign.

But Mr Leech said they were wrong.

He said that he had been a victim of abuse from the age of 8-11.

"We insist on seeing sex offenders as criminals to be punished instead of psychiatric patients who need help," he said.

The News of the World's campaign has been criticised

Mr Leech said this meant that they then had to be let out at the end of their sentence whether they were no longer a risk or not.

"That can't be right," he said.

Allan Levy, QC, a specialist in child law, said he thought the campaign was dangerous.

"This campaign is more likely to harm children than help then and is more likely to mean that innocent people are targeted," he told Newsnight.

He also said he thought it would mean sex offenders being driven underground.

"At the time they may be receiving treatment or supervision from probation officers which may be controlling or suppressing their liability to reoffend."