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| Police review criminal DNA cases | |
| (10 minutes later) | |
| Police forces in England and Wales are to review criminal cases in which DNA samples may have been missed by the Forensic Science Service. | |
| The Association of Chief Police Officers has written to 43 chief constables about serious cases such as murder which may need re-investigating. | |
| An unspecified number of cases dated between 2000 and 2005 will be reviewed. | |
| Shadow home secretary David Davis expressed concern and described the situation as "incredibly serious". | |
| A Home Office spokesperson said "a minimal amount" of cases were involved and that the situation would not have led to anyone being wrongly convicted. | A Home Office spokesperson said "a minimal amount" of cases were involved and that the situation would not have led to anyone being wrongly convicted. |
| 'Small percentage' | 'Small percentage' |
| Instead the cases involved situations where there was "no result" in DNA tests, which would have meant that potentially a guilty person was not convicted. | Instead the cases involved situations where there was "no result" in DNA tests, which would have meant that potentially a guilty person was not convicted. |
| The cases would specifically involve Low Copy Number (LCN) DNA samples which involve tiny traces of DNA that have only been detectable with new techniques available since 2001. | |
| A joint statement issued by the Home Office and Acpo said: "Towards the end of 2006 we become aware that a small percentage of DNA samples may need to be re-examined as a result of differences in the way forensic suppliers were using new techniques to analyse forensic material between 2000 and 2005. | A joint statement issued by the Home Office and Acpo said: "Towards the end of 2006 we become aware that a small percentage of DNA samples may need to be re-examined as a result of differences in the way forensic suppliers were using new techniques to analyse forensic material between 2000 and 2005. |
| "Acpo is very close to completing that work and has found no evidence that we should be concerned about standards being used today. | "Acpo is very close to completing that work and has found no evidence that we should be concerned about standards being used today. |
| 'Silver bullet' | 'Silver bullet' |
| "We cannot speculate on the numbers involved until the full review is complete." | "We cannot speculate on the numbers involved until the full review is complete." |
| Shadow home secretary David Davis expressed concerns over a potential "fundamental failure". | Shadow home secretary David Davis expressed concerns over a potential "fundamental failure". |
| He told BBC News 24: "DNA evidence is almost viewed as a silver bullet point by this government. | He told BBC News 24: "DNA evidence is almost viewed as a silver bullet point by this government. |
| "Certainly it's insisting on increasing the DNA database, without the legal backing for it and so on, so it thinks DNA's very important, and rightly so, it is very important. | "Certainly it's insisting on increasing the DNA database, without the legal backing for it and so on, so it thinks DNA's very important, and rightly so, it is very important. |
| "Juries tend to believe it almost without argument. Therefore it's very important to keep the quality of that evidence up." |