LONDON, ENGLAND - Some of Britain's leading children's authors refused Thursday to do future readings in schools in protest over a new vetting process to prove they are not sex offenders.

Angry authors branded the policy, set to be introduced nationwide in October, "ludicrous and insulting," saying they were effectively being forced to undergo background checks to show they were not paedophiles.

"It's actually rather dispiriting and sinister," said Philip Pullman, author of fantasy trilogy "His Dark Materials".

"Children are abused in the home, not in classes of 30 or groups of 200 in the assembly hall with teachers looking on," he told the BBC.

Under the scheme, people wanting to work with children will be required to register with a national database for a fee of 64 pounds (74 euros, 105 dollars) as part of a process to protect children from potential abuse.

The measure is being introduced in the wake of the 2002 murders of 10-year-old school girls by school caretaker Ian Huntley, crimes that sparked outrage in Britain.

Anthony Horowitz, author of the popular Alex Rider series about a young spy, said the scheme poisoned the special relationship between children and the writers they admired.

"After 30 years writing books, visiting schools, hospitals, prisons, spreading an enthusiasm for culture and literary, I find this incredibly insulting," Horowitz said, writing in The Independent newspaper.

The Department for Children, Schools and Families said the checks have been misunderstood, and authors will only need them if they attend schools regularly.

"Authors will not have to register with the Vetting and Barring Scheme if they work with children once or infrequently," a department spokesman said.

"In fact, people working in schools will only be required to register if they work with children on a regular basis.

"This is because visitors to schools, even if they are supervised by a teacher at all times, are being placed in a unique position of trust where they can easily become deeply liked and trusted by pupils."

Anthony Browne, the current children's laureate, a prestigious award, who is in charge of promoting literature in schools, said authors should not be given special treatment if they wanted to work with children.

"I don't see why we, as writers and authors, should be any different to dinner ladies, or teachers who also have to undergo these checks," he told the BBC's Newsnight programme.

"If may seem ridiculous but if it saves one child's life then it's worth it," he said.