Well that was 50k well spent!

In case you don't know, the British DNA database is the biggest DNA database in the world. It contains records of over four million people, one quarter of whom were never convicted of anything. It also contains the records of 500,000 children. The database is owned and maintained by the police. Since 2004 the police have been legally able to take a DNA sample from anyone they arrest, and the record stays in the database forever, even if the the arrested person subsequently turns out to be innocent. Anyone who volunteers to give the police a DNA sample is also recorded in the database and the record is never erased. There is a reason for telling you this, stick with me.

Today we hear that the government commissioned a "citizens inquiry" on the British DNA database back in January at a cost of £50,000 to the tax payer. The report was published today. It concluded that one million records of innocent people should be removed from the database, and that criminals who have served their time should also have their records removed.

The report also recommended that the database should be managed by an independent body, not the police or Home Office, and that police should be banned from taking samples from people who have committed minor offences. The panel are also quoted as saying, "past actions and hidden agendas have shown that the government can't be trusted." One individual panel member was quoted as saying, "For me, that is the first step towards a totalitarian state if we start recording these things now". (Quotes again from Metro Newspaper 30 July 07).

So, pretty strong message from the citizens inquiry commissioned by the PM to gauge the views of ordinary people. How has the Home Office responded? I'll tell you. According to the Metro, the initial response from the Home Office was, "They won't change our position". According to the Telegraph they later added that they welcomed "constructive and open discussion" on the database. So that was £50,000 well spent then.

Find the full report here.

The Labour party continues to lurch from one crisis to the next. This week started with confusion about who was running the country while the PM took a holiday. Clearly Harriet Harman thought she was driving yesterday, though it seems that Gordon wasn't comfortable with a woman driver and felt the need to tell everyone he was still in control while away. Today we see Dave Miliband the foreign secretary apparently setting himself up as a potential challenger for the top job, and then claiming he wasn't doing anything of the sort.

My theory on the Gordon Brown issue is this; if he stays on as PM (and I think he will) they'll be an election in 12-18 months, and the labour party will lose badly to the Tories, might even come third. If he gets pushed out they'll have to be an election much sooner, and the labour party will lose, but maybe not quite as badly. They will still look like a party in utter disarray and people won't vote for them. It's a difficult call for the labour party because either way could be perceived as the path of least destruction.

The leader will be sacked at the next election if they lose, whether it be Gordon or someone else. If Dave Miliband, Harriet Harman, or Jack Straw take over as PM before the next election, then lose and get sacked, they won't be in a position to stand as leader in the following election. That's why Jack and Harriet have given their support to Gordon.

Too much politics. I hate politics. I don't know why I do it to myself.