Apology to woman listed as thief

Emma Budd was wrongly labelled a shoplifter by the CRB

The head of the Criminal Records Bureau (CRB) has apologised to a woman rejected for teaching jobs after she was wrongly said to have convictions.

Emma Budd, from Maesteg, was shown to have theft convictions on a CRB check made by potential employers.

She is one of an estimated 2,700 people across the UK wrongly listed as criminals by the CRB.

Chief executive Vince Gaskell said on Monday he wished to "apologise directly" to the 19-year-old.

Ms Budd, rejected for two jobs teaching disabled people after CRB checks said she had two convictions for theft, said: "I had the CRB form through saying I had two convictions in November 2000.

I just looked at it and burst into tears - I could not believe it Emma Budd

"Last September, I went to university and because I was doing a teacher's degree I had to have another CRB check done.

"I was having a laugh and a joke with my family saying 'how many convictions have I got this time' I opened it (the letter) up and there were the same two convictions on there.

"I just looked at it and burst into tears. I could not believe it.

"I'm very annoyed because I have to have another check done because I work as a play leader with disabled children. I'm really scared in case it all happens again."

'Tiny proportion'

It has emerged that around 2,700 people have been wrongly labelled as having criminal records by the CRB.

The Home Office said the errors arose when personal details were similar to those of people with a conviction, but insisted this was only the case in "a tiny proportion of cases". It said 90% of disputes were resolved within 21 days and, while errors were regrettable, it would not apologise for its "caution".

But on Monday, CRB chief executive Vince Gaskell said he "deeply regretted" the distress and hurt caused to those mistakenly labelled criminals.

He said: "We do apologise to these people - that usually comes when we have actually sorted out the situation that is presented to us.

"It can be quite time-consuming and complicated, although we do try to clear it up within three weeks.

"Usually, at the end of that process, we do apologise to the individual concerned. If we have not done that in Emma's case, then let me take this opportunity to do so now and apologise directly to her."