Sarah was murdered by Roy Whiting

His decision came as the parents of murdered schoolgirl Sarah Payne stepped up their campaign for a change in the law to give the public access to information about known paedophiles.

Michael and Sara Payne said if they had known that convicted sex offender Roy Whiting had been living in the area, they would never have allowed their children to play unsupervised.

Their campaign is being backed by a tabloid Sunday newspaper which has already secured thousands of signatures in support.

Mr Wallace's statement effectively rules out the possibility of Scotland following America's Megan's Law which allowed communities to be told about the whereabouts of known paedophiles.

He told MSPs that he was not in favour of such a proposal while outlining a series of legal reforms contained in the new Criminal Justice Bill.

Monitoring movements

The justice minister said he believed that measures included in the legislation would provide increased protection for children and women.

Reflecting on the conviction Roy Whiting for the murder of Sarah Payne, Mr Wallace said it was "common sense" not to introduce Sarah's Law as it could make it more difficult for police to monitor the movements of convicted sex offenders.

He said: "I certainly don't believe that making a register public would assist in that it could effectively drive sex offenders underground."

Commenting on the murder of the schoolgirl, Mr Wallace added: "I can't put my hand on my heart and say it will never happen again. It would be folly for anyone to do so."