More than one million people’s genetic fingerprints have been added to the police DNA database in only ten months.
The “Big Brother” system, already the biggest in the world, now permanently stores the details of more than 4.5million individuals.
The rise is the equivalent of 150 new entries every hour. The database now covers one in 13 of the population – around 7.5 per cent.
– The Daily Mail
The Armed Forces are “running on empty”, overstretched by the long-running operations in Iraq and Afghanistan, according to a report on the state of the military.
“The conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan have seriously diminished the ability of the Armed Forces to meet future challenges,” the think-tank Demos said.
With such pressures affecting the Forces, the current situation was “unsustainable – financially, organisationally, operationally and in terms of military-society relations”.
– The Times
The Home Secretary has instructed an independent review to consider whether allowing wire-tap evidence in court would jeopardise secret eavesdropping methods.
Jacqui Smith is understood to be particularly concerned to prevent terrorists from learning about new techniques for listening in to calls made over the internet.
Hopes were raised that the Government would overrule the objections of the security and intelligence services when an independent review into the admissibility of wire-tap evidence was set up this summer. The review group, made up of Privy Counsellors, has been working without publicity since July. It is expected to take evidence from prosecutors, MI5, GCHQ and others before recommending whether the law should be changed.
– The Times
