I WAS amazed on reading the comments of Nick Clegg, the Liberal Democrat home affairs spokesman, regarding Lord Mackenzie of Framwellgate's suggestion that DNA from all babies should be stored on a national database (Echo, May 17).

Mr Clegg irresponsibly comments that there is something amiss when Lord Mackenzie, a former chief superintendent with Durham Police, advocates abusing the privacy of the innocent to protect them from the guilty.

Surely storing the DNA of everyone on a national database would be a protection of the innocent from the guilty. With crime rates at record levels, DNA storage would not only be of use in crime detection but a major deterrent to the criminal element.

If only the authorities had this information 30 years ago, for example, the families of the Yorkshire Ripper victims may been saved the loss and trauma Peter Sutcliffe inflicted upon them.

Kev McStravick, Darlington.