by Jo Sword

"There should not be one law for MPs and another for everyone else - everyone should be treated as I have been treated."

These are the words of Ashford MP Damian Green who is calling for all innocent people to have their records removed from the national DNA database.

Under current rules, anyone detained for an offence has their genetic fingerprint stored for life. Mr Green claims that is "very dangerous".

The shadow immigration minister had been fighting to get his details deleted since being cleared of involvement in Home Office leaks in April.

The Metropolitan Police has now confirmed it has removed Mr Green's DNA profile from its records - but not everyone has the same amount of success.

With more than 800,000 innocent people on the DNA database, the Tory frontbencher believes keeping the information could make the police's job more difficult.

Hear Damian Green explaining why he thinks innocent people should have their records removed from the national DNA database

He said: "The argument is it makes it easier for future enquiries, but it is a very dangerous thing to do.

"Of course, if you are convicted of a serious crime your DNA should be kept - but for innocent people it just alienates them from police. It makes them feel they are being treated as potential suspects rather than as normal respectable citizens.

"In the long term, that will divide the police from the mass of respectable people and that actually makes policing more difficult in this country."