Oral question asked in the House of Lords, by Lord Lester of Herne Hill (Liberal Democrat). It was answered on Tuesday, 9 December 2008.

National DNA Database

Question: My Lords, the European Court pointed out that we are alone in Europe in having totally indiscriminate use of this material. It particularly focused on Scotland as an example of good practice. Is there anything to stop the Government implementing the judgment soon by making a remedial order under the Human Rights Act to put English law in the same position as Scottish law?

Answer: My Lords, as I stated before, we are now looking at the implications. We will have to come up with an answer to the Committee of Ministers by March 2009. In the course of doing that, we will look at lots of options, and that may be one. One has to remember that the necessary legislation for what we are doing went through Parliament, and the House of Lords upheld the appeal in the S and Marper case. Our policy is aimed at tackling crime and bringing offenders to justice. We will have to look at the full implications of this.

Secondary information

Type: Oral question
Reference: 706 c265
Session: 2008-09
Oral question type: Supplementary
Chamber / Committee: House of Lords chamber
Subjects: Databases DNA Human rights European Convention on Human Rights Judgements European Court of Human Rights
Link: View this Oral question on www.publications.parliament.uk