Professor Sir Alec Jeffreys, who devised the system to identify criminals from the unique characteristics of their genes, said that he had changed his mind about the human rights implications of a universal DNA database.

 Featured in the BBC's Midlands Report documentary yesterday, he said: "When this idea was first put forward about 10 years ago I had considerable concerns over civil liberties issues. On reflection, I'm now actually in favour of this."

 Professor Jeffreys, 51, of Leicester University, who was knighted for his work on DNA fingerprinting, said: "The technology is there to make a DNA database for every single one of the 60 million citizens who make up the UK. I think the potential of this database to prosecute serious crime . . . is very substantial. This is a proposal that requires careful thought."