Green wins DNA victory
By politics.co.uk staff
Police have agreed to delete records of shadow immigration minister Damian Green’s DNA.
The move was hailed as a small victory for civil liberties campaigners, who are frustrated by the DNA records of 800,000 innocent people currently kept on record.
Mr Green’s case kicked up a political storm after he was arrested in connection with a leak probe in his Westminster office last autumn. The crown prosecution service subsequently decided there was insufficient evidence to charge him over the leaking of documents from within government.
“I am delighted that the Metropolitan police has recognised that keeping the DNA records of someone who should not have been arrested in the first place is wrong. This is a small but significant victory for freedom,” Mr Green said yesterday.
“But this is only a first step. I want every innocent person who has been arrested and whose records are being wrongly held to be treated the same as me.”
The Metropolitan police had described Mr Green’s case as “exceptional” and pledged to delete his records “within weeks”.
Campaigners have argued their decision is a tacit admission their initial arrest of Mr Green was a mistake.
