The government has indicated that it will urgently review the Data Protection Act.

The move follows Ian Huntley's guilty verdict in the Soham murder trial and the death of two pensioners who had their gas supply cut off without social services being informed.

It has emerged that Huntley was allowed to obtain a job as a school caretaker despite having a record of sexual assault allegations, which the police were unable to maintain.

Health secretary John Reid said on Tuesday that in the light of these cases the law needed to be looked at again.

"If there are data protection regulations that prevent people's lives being saved there's obviously something wrong," he said.

"So obviously we and the other departments concerned will look at that because the whole point of these regulations is to protect people's privacy, it is not to put their lives in danger."

Conservative health spokesman Tim Yeo said the government should see if energy companies "can point out bits of the guidance which they believe prevent them from passing on information, and that could be changed very quickly".