David Blunkett yesterday stood by his decision to demand the suspension of Humberside's chief constable.

The home secretary said he would instruct Home Office lawyers to begin proceedings to secure the suspension despite an intervention by the father of one of the murdered Soham schoolgirls.

Meanwhile, Hailey Edwards, who was Ian Huntley’s first victim when she was 11, has told the Sun that Blunkett is right to press for the chief constable's removal.