Britain's most senior policeman has raised the prospect of a EU-wide DNA database.
Metropolitan Police Commissioner Sir Ian Blair said the register could be one tool in the fight against organised crime.
Speaking at the first pan-European serious organised crime conference, Sir Ian said: "Let us now imagine the benefits of exten
ding both the DNA offender database and the crime scene database EU wide. Add to this an EU-wide automated fingerprint recognition and search system ... and the benefits are obvious."
The three-day event brings together law enforcement agencies from the European Union, Turkey and the Balkans. It aims to bring police and security officials together with Interpol and Europol to discuss strategies for tackling international gangs.
Delegates will discuss drug importation, gun crime, money laundering, human trafficking and internet crime.
The event was opened by Home Secretary Jacqui Smith who came under fire yesterday from Conservatives over another issue with potential repurcussions for civil liberties.
The Tories claim up to 100,000 airport staff will be required to apply for compulsory national ID cards, breaching a previous pledge on the controversial scheme.
Leaked Home Office documents showed that a national roll-out of the controversial ID cards had been postponed to 2012, but workers in sensitive locations such as airports would be required to apply for the documents sooner.
Shadow Home Secretary David Davis said: "It is inconceivable that these workers would not already have full ID verification.
"Therefore the question has to be will this add to airport security or is it a way of getting the British public used to an ID card by stealth – despite an explicit promise from a former home secretary that this programme would not be rolled out in a compulsory fashion without a vote in the House of Commons."
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