Fingerprints and DNA of up to 800 terror suspects destroyed because of errors by spies and the police

Terrorist suspects - clockwise from top left - Abdel-Majed Abdel Bary,  Ibrahim Magag , Omar Hussain, Aine Davis & Abu Rumaysah
Suspects - clockwise from top left - Abdel-Majed Abdel Bary, Ibrahim Magag, Omar Hussain, Aine Davis & Abu Rumaysah. Potentially vital forensic evidence on suspected jihadist extremists has been lost at a time when Britain is in a high state of terror alert

The fingerprint and DNA profiles of up to 800 terror suspects have been destroyed because of errors by spies and the police, it has emerged.

The number of destroyed cases represents of one in 10 of the 8,000 extremists whose details are held on the Government’s counter-terrorism databases.

The destruction took place because paperwork was not completed which would have allowed biometric data to be stored indefinitely, a watchdog said.

The error means potentially vital forensic evidence will be lost at a time when Britain is in a high state of terror alert.

Critics called for an investigation and said it was "appalling" that mistakes by the police mean that evidence on potential terrorists has to be destroyed "on a technicality".

 It came as official figures released on Thursday revealed that the level of migration from the European Union reached record levels last year.

The migration figures - the final set of data before the EU referendum - shows that one in three EU migrants coming to the UK do not have a job.

In a report, Alastair MacGregor QC, the UK's Biometrics Commissioner, found that the fingerprints and DNA profiles of 810 suspects – the “great majority” of whom had been swabbed as part of a terrorism investigation - had to be destroyed.

He found that 108 of the suspects were so dangerous that the Security Service had provided evidence supporting the need to keep hold of the database.

The proportion being destroyed is nearly twice as many as were found during an earlier audit by Mr MacGregor last October.

The forensic samples and fingerprints are from suspects who have been arrested by police but never charged.

The law requires material from suspects against whom no charges are brought to be destroyed or deleted within six months.

However, senior police officers can apply for them to be held indefinitely if they apply for a “national security declaration”.

Mr MacGregor blamed the destruction of the evidence on “repeated delays” delays in transferring DNA material by police, and “substantial delays” by the Security Service in providing assessments of suspects.

He added that he “although it has taken much longer to reach this position than I would have wished - I am now broadly satisfied that proper steps have been and are being taken to remedy the expiry and deletion problems that have arisen”.

DNA and fingerprints play a key role in terrorist investigations by establishing the movements of suspects and helping police link individuals with firearms, explosives and locations, including vehicles.

MPs were highly critical of the errors. Keith Vaz, the Labour chairman of the House of Commons home affairs committee, said the news “does little for public confidence”.

He said: “Hundreds of DNA profiles have been lost which can link suspects to criminal activity, which in many of these cases may be terrorism-related. 

“There needs to be an urgent investigation to get to the root of this problem, but the Home Office must get a grip of how data is being managed to prevent issues like this from damaging our national security.”

Tim Loughton, a Conservative member of the committee, added: “It is quite appalling that when we do have potentially dangerous people on the radar the police fail on a technicality fail to keep their details so they can be properly monitored.”

Dr John Bahadur Lamb, Lecturer in Criminology and Security Studies at Birmingham City University, added: “Such an oversight is a glaring error and will inevitably lead to a wholesale review of the processes in place.

Keith Vaz
Labour MP Keith Vaz said the news 'does little for public confidence' Credit: AFP/Getty Images

“The removal of these profiles significantly weakens the UK’s security as it stops the police being able to quickly compare evidence against known individuals.

“Atbest this will slow down investigations and at worst it could actually allow individuals to carry out an attack where previously they would have been caught.”

Assistant Chief Constable Alan Barr, deputy senior national coordinator for counter-terrorism, confirmed the biometric information had been deleted.

He said: “This was a result of a number of different factors across our processes.

“We have worked with the Biometrics Commissioner to develop a comprehensive plan to rectify the immediate issues and to ensure this will not happen again. 

“The identity of these individuals is known and the risks they potentially pose are being managed in conjunction with partner agencies to minimise any long term risk to the public.”

A Home Office spokesman said: “The Home Secretary is grateful to the Biometrics Commissioner for his follow-up work since the 2015 report was published.

“The Commissioner has concluded that steps are being taken to address these issues, and the police have provided further assurances that they will be kept under close review.”

The Telegraph has launched a Border Security campaign calling for a review of protections at the border.

The DNA destruction came as the Government's borders inspector criticised deep cuts to Whitehall budgets, claiming they were an "unwelcome distraction" which affected his ability to do his job. 

David Bolt warned it has been "a challenge" to do his job properly because of cuts to his workforce, leaving the department short staffed. 

He said: “As it stands, it has already required me to make difficult choices about priorities and the span of work in each year, but it is hard to see what might be dropped or delayed.”

The accidental destruction of the fingerprints and DNA profiles of 800 terror suspects is a ‘glaring error’ which ‘significantly weakens’ the UK’s security, a top counter-terrorism expert has warned.

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