One million innocent people could have their profiles wiped from Britain's 'Orwellian' DNA database after court ruling
By Ian Drury
Daily Mail | Nearly one million innocent people could have their profiles wiped off Britain's 'Orwellian' DNA database.
A landmark European ruling said it was unlawful for police to store for life swabs and fingerprints from people arrested, but later cleared of wrongdoing.
The national DNA database was thrown into turmoil after a court severely criticised the policy of holding samples of people absolved of any crime.
The damning verdict by the European Court of Human Rights could force the Government to wipe the DNA details of almost 860,000 people from the sprawling database.
In an excoriating attack on the system, 17 senior judges ruled unanimously that retaining the information of law-abiding citizens 'could not be regarded as necessary in a democratic society'.
Home Secretary Jacqui Smith said she was 'disappointed' by the verdict, which it is claimed could have far-reaching consequences for the police's ability to fight crime.
But civil rights campaigners said the ruling was a 'triumph for justice' over the hugely controversial 'Big Brother' policy.
Some anti-surveillance society campaigners went as far saying it 'called into question the legality' of other Government databases, including the national ID register, children's databases, police profiling techniques and even TV licensing information.
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