Tories allow six-year retention of innocents' DNA to pass

Crime and Security Bill bill is rushed through during the wash-up period

Tories have agreed to allow government plans concerning DNA retention to become law

The Tories have agreed to allow government plans regarding DNA retention to become law.

The plans, contained in the Crime and Security bill, restrict keeping DNA seized from suspects subsequently released or found innocent on the police national database for up to six years – except in the case of serious violent or sexual crimes where it can be retained for longer.

Shadow home secretary Chris Grayling rushed out a pledge not to block the Crime and Security bill because of disagreement over the DNA section after home secretary Alan Johnson accused him of planning to do so.

But Grayling made it plain that his party is giving the go-ahead reluctantly because the current indefinite retention of DNA data "is unacceptable and has been ruled illegal".

He pledged an incoming Tory government would change the guidance and give innocent people wrongly accused of minor crimes an automatic right to have their record withdrawn.

The debate has taken place during the "wash-up" horse-trading process before Parliament breaks up for the general election.

The government claims statistics show DNA from those not convicted has been of use in solving other crimes and this justifies what some people regard to be an infringement of human rights.

Sam Blackie, telecoms director at business advisory firm Deloitte, said of the decision:

"Today’s announcement was widely expected, given the limited amount of time between the levy being announced in this year’s Budget and the dissolution of parliament, as well as the strong Conservative opposition to the measure.

“While both the Labour and Conservative parties have publically supported the introduction of high-speed broadband networks, they are expensive to deploy, particularly in rural areas.

But, international evidence suggests that it will not be commercially viable to construct these networks in many parts of the country without some level of financial support from the government. The loss of this funding leaves significant uncertainty regarding what will happen to the policy after the election.“