European Investigation Order

Henry Smith Excerpts

Tuesday 27th July 2010 Commons Chamber

[Mrs May]

I can, I hope, reassure my hon. Friend on his second point. Under the data protection arrangements in the European Union, DNA samples could be held by another member state only for the same time as they can be held here in the UK. That opens up another argument about why the Government intend to change the arrangements for the DNA database and do not want to hold the DNA of innocent people for significant periods, as the Labour Government did.

[Henry Smith (Crawley) (Con)]

My right hon. Friend talks about the proportionality test that will be applied, but who will write the rules of that test? Will it be by negotiation among EU countries or will it be the UK Government? And who will adjudicate that?

[Mrs May]

The proportionality test is something that we intend to negotiate with other member states from the point of opt-in to the point at which the text of the final directive is determined.