The party has had a lot to say in recent years about this government’s record on keeping DNA samples.

This is all neatly summarized at the Lib Dem campaign microsite “Protect innocent people’s DNA.”

One key injustice is that your DNA can be stored in the national database even if you are not guilty of any crime. The database holds DNA samples of over a million people who don’t even have a police caution. 25,000 of those are children.

As the site says,

The police have the power to take and store DNA from everyone they arrest, even if that person is released without any charge.

Can we think of any high profile people who have been arrested and released without charge? How about the Labour party officials questioned about the Loans for Lords scandal?

Private Eye is on the case. Eye 1190 reports

Despite complaints about “Gestapo-like” tactics pursued by police investigating the cash-for honours affair, it seems that the trio arrested by Inspector Knacker – Lord Levy, Ruth Turner and Sir Christopher Evans – may have been treated more favourably than most suspected villains.

For the past three years, police have routinely taken DNA samples from people they arrest and added them to the national database, even if they are completely innocent. When the Eye phoned Scotland Yard to confirm that the cash-for-honours trio had indeed been treated like most other suspects, a spokeswoman said: “Taking DNA does not happen in every case.”

We also asked Lord Levy’s office, Tony Blair’s new office, (where Ms Turner now works), and Sir Christopher’s office at his Merlin Biosciences company. Reply came there none.

Perhaps a parliamentary question on the subject when the House reconvenes can set the record straight once and for all. It would be most invidious if it were to turn out that there was one rule for the majority of the population, and another for officers of the Labour party.