TODAY came the formalities. A coroner was officially recording the deaths of Holly Wells and Jessica Chapman this afternoon.

The Cambridge inquest was one of many to open across the country this week, each one registering someone's loss. But the murder of the two ten-year-old Soham girls has sent shockwaves of grief far beyond the private agony of their families. It has horrified and saddened the world.

The tearful pilgrimage to the girls' home town, the faces white with grief, the carpet of floral tributes all bring to mind another August tragedy: the death of Diana, Princess of Wales. Not since that day, five years ago next week, have we witnessed scenes of such public mourning.

The country hoped and prayed together for the safe return of Holly and Jessica. Since the worst news was confirmed, the collective feelings have changed to deep sadness - and anger.

In its ugliest form, that anger was expressed by the mob which heckled the police van taking suspect Maxine Carr to court.

Others have demanded the reinstatement of the death penalty for child killers, a call destined to go unheard.

But there is something positive that can be done right now: the tightening of vetting procedures on school staff.

The Soham murders have brought to general attention the potentially disastrous state of the Criminal Records Bureau.

The bureau was established last year to centralise police checks on people applying to work with young people in schools and elsewhere.

But it is not working. Red tape and staff shortages have led to an unknown number of teachers being appointed without a background check into possible criminal convictions.

This is deeply worrying for every parent. We send our children to school expecting them to be safe. While the bureau fails, that assumption is undermined.

The Government has hired another 100 people to deal with the bureau's backlog. What a grim shame that it took such a dreadful tragedy for this to happen.

Updated: 10:56 Friday, August 23, 2002