The British government today ordered an immediate review of the management of sex offenders in Northern Ireland.
It will be headed up by Kit Chivers, the chief inspector of the North's criminal justice system.
The review was announced within minutes of convicted rapist and murderer Trevor Hamilton being told he will spend the rest of his life in jail for the killing of Co Tyrone retired librarian Attracta Harron.
Hamilton (23), murdered Mrs Harron within months of being freed on parole for rape and at a time when it was claimed he was one of the most closely monitored sex offenders in Northern Ireland.
The Harron family and Democratic Unionist MP Gregory Campbell have called for a full inquiry into the affair.
Northern Ireland Office justice minister David Hanson said today: "It must be remembered that cases such as this are very rare. However, there is no room for complacency and all the agencies concerned, the PSNI, Probation Service and Northern Ireland Prison Service, must strive to reduce risks to the absolute minimum.
"The agencies involved in the management of Trevor Hamilton have already learned lessons from this tragic case and will continue to do so.
"They have carried out their own internal investigations and made some 39 recommendations. To date, 20 of these have been fully implemented, with the remainder in the process of being implemented," he said.
Mr Hanson said he had confidence the police, probation service and prison service in Northern Ireland would strengthen their working practices in the wake of the Hamilton case.