An assessment of a protocol devised to guide practitioners thinking of using covert video surveillance. Such surveillance is particularly used to help identify cases of Munchausen's syndrome by proxy. The protocol in question has been written by staff at the Academic Department of Paediatrics, North Staffordshire Hospital, Stoke-on-Trent in association with their local Area Child Protection Committee and has been commended by the Department of Health to others wishing to implement covert video surveillance.

This paper is a response to Dr Shinebourne's response to my recent paper assessing the relative merits of the Staffordshire Protocol on covert video surveillance. Dr Shinebourne does not take the opportunity to rebut the criticisms made of the text of the protocol. It is further suggested that judicial oversight of the use of CVS might accord the process a degree of proportionality.