Officials: Glitter free to travel overseas

LONDON, Aug. 24 (UPI) -- Ex-pop star Gary Glitter, free after serving time for sex offenses in Vietnam, can travel overseas without police permission, officials in Britain say.

Allowing Glitter, whose real name is Paul Gadd, to freely leave Britain after spending three years in a Vietnamese prison for having sex with young girls, is part of a trend in Britain regarding sex offenders, The Sunday Times of London reported.

The newspaper said only three sex offenders have been banned from overseas travel by the British government since 2003, compared with more than 3,000 travel bans placed on soccer hooligans.

The head of the children's rights group, Ecpat UK, has called for stricter guidelines for convicted sex offenders such as Gadd, who enjoyed a successful music career in the 1970s thanks to hits like "Hello, Hello, I'm Back Again."

"The government must take immediate steps to give clear guidance on when travel bans should be used to protect the world's most vulnerable children," Ecpat UK Director Christine Beddoe told the Times.