The controversial retention of DNA and other materials of innocent people for 6 years was passed as part of the so called "parliamentary wash-up" before parliament was dissolved. When a General Election is called all Bills not passed on the date when parliament is dissolved are lost. To get around this politicians use something called the "wash-up" whereby the major parties horse-trade over legislation that has not yet made it all the way through the parliamentary procedure. The new DNA retention law is contained in the Crime and Security Act which is just one of many new acts that have been snuck through without proper parliamentary debate. The European Court of Human Rights in 2008 ruled that the UK government's retention of the DNA of innocent people was unlawful - it remains to be seen whether the new 6 year retention is compatible with that ruling. During the wash-up a total of 18 bills were passed into law.
More details HERE
More details HERE
For a list of bills passed without proper debate see:
http://news.parliament.uk/2010/04/the-end-of-the-2005-2010-parliament/
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