Gunman fights DNA ruling

Stuart Blackstock, the gunman serving a life sentence for crippling a policeman, yesterday launched an attempt to prevent police obtaining DNA samples without consent.

He appeared at the High Court in London to argue that his human rights were being infringed.

He told that a decision requiring him to give samples for inclusion in the national DNA database had "disturbing implications" and amounted to a "retrospective penalty" contrary to the European Convention on Human Rights.