Hundreds of innocent Britons have been branded criminals by a government agency checking for paedophiles.

Almost 700 people were falsely accused of wrongdoing last year by the Criminal Records Bureau.

The CRB vets applicants for jobs in teaching, nursing, childminding and volunteer work.

But many of the falsely accused workers will now have to go through an appeals process to clear their names and will face the nightmare of being socially stigmatised.

Shadow Home Office minister David Ruffley said the mistakes were evidence of a crisis of confidence in the handling of public information at a time when there are increasing demands for checks.