THOUSANDS of innocent people in Merseyside and Cheshire, whose profiles are stored on the DNA database, will have to wait at least six years for them to be removed.

Last night, the Government came under attack from civil liberties groups and opposition parties over its plans to comply with a European Court ruling.

Current rules, under which everyone arrested has their genetic fingerprint stored indefinitely, were ruled illegal by the European Court of Human Rights in December.

Last year, the Daily Post revealed that almost one in 10 people on Merseyside has their genetic profile stored on the national DNA database.

The figures show that there are more than 200,000 profiles of people in Merseyside and Cheshire – many of whom have never been convicted of any crime – on the controversial database.

And – according to further details released under the Freedom of Information Act – more than 18,000 people have been released without charge since Merseyside Police began taking DNA samples on arrest.

Liberal Democrat spokesman David Heath said the Home Office was effectively ignoring the Strasbourg ruling and showed an “inability to understand what the word innocent means”.

Shami Chakrabarti, director of Liberty, said: “Wholly innocent people – including children – will have their most intimate details stockpiled for years on a database that will remain massively out of step with the rest of the world.”

The new Home Office proposals would see anyone arrested for a minor offence, but later released, still having their profile stored for six years, unless they are re-arrested.

Suspects held for sexual and violent offences who are not charged will stay on the database for 12 years.

Home Secretary Jacqui Smith said: “The DNA database plays a vital role . . . and will help ensure that a great many criminals are behind bars where they belong.”

The Home Office estimates that last year 17,614 crimes were solved using a DNA match, including 83 killings and 184 rapes.