§ Mr. DalyellTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, pursuant to his answer of 10 April 2000,Official Report, column 64W, whether the evidence in the case of Hilda Murrell currently with West Mercia Police has been referred to the DNA Centre in Birmingham for the purpose of matching tissue; and if he will make a statement. [119045]
§ Mr. StrawI understand from the West Mercia Constabulary that a number of forensic exhibits from the Hilda Murrell case are currently with the Forensic Science Service (FSS) laboratory in Birmingham for review to identify any which might give a positive result with the new DNA techniques (Second Generation Multiplex plus and Low Copy Number systems), which have only recently become available. Discussions involving the FSS Major Crime Specialist Adviser on the strategic way ahead for this review are in progress. No DNA sequences were recovered from an earlier forensic review carried out in 1992.