BBC radio news was yesterday carrying an item which I very much hope was badly worded
A rape/murder case from 1946 has been reopened & the scientists have been able to recover DNA, presumed to belong to the perpetrator, from some of the stored evidence
No match has been found on the national DNA database
Detectives will now trace the 50 or so men who were considered ‘of serious interest’ at the time. If still alive, their DNA will be checked
If they have died a ‘familial’ matching technique will be tried: ‘Their sons or grandsons will be tested’
Presumably they intend to ask all these people if they would be willing to provide a sample – or do they really have powers now (under so-called anti-terrorism laws) to require the provision under such circumstances?
