France link to missing paedophile

Police have said Millbank may pose a danger to children

An on-the-run paedophile has travelled to France and may still be there, according to police.

Joseph Millbank, 47, went missing from Perth on 27 June after being released from prison on licence at the beginning of May.

He was convicted in 2002 of a string of sex offences against children and was given a 10 year prison sentence.

Millbank's details have been sent to every police force in Europe in an effort to trace him.

He was jailed after admitting taking indecent pictures of children in Dundee, Aberdeen and Inverness.

He also admitted charges of abusing girls in Perth in the 1980s.

When Millbank was released on licence he had to comply with certain conditions.

However he did not keep up with those requirements and a warrant has been granted for his arrest.

Detectives are now working closely with their counterparts in Interpol in a bid to find him Tayside Police spokeswoman

Tayside Police have said that he travelled to France on the same day he disappeared from Perth.

They believe he may be a danger to children.

A police spokeswoman said: "Officers investigating his whereabouts have since established that the 47-year-old has travelled to France and may still be there.

"Detectives are now working closely with their counterparts in Interpol in a bid to find him.

"His photograph and details had already been circulated to every police force within the UK, and have now been circulated throughout all European forces"

Meanwhile, police have defended the length of time it took to inform the public of Millbank's disappearance.

Labour's justice spokeswoman Pauline McNeill has asked why a week passed before people were warned he was missing.

She said: "This is the type of offender you would question why he was released on licence, so there are questions which need to be answered, first as to why he was on release and second as why it seemed to take a wee bit longer than it should have to start putting his details out there to search for him."

The police spokeswoman said they had to exhaust conventional methods of investigation before asking for permission from the crown office to publish a photograph of an offender.