Victory for Jimmy Carr's father over police DNA sample

Jim Carr, 63, waged a campaign to clear his name after he was prosecuted for harassing his sons Jimmy and Colin in 2004.

They claimed he had sent them abusive faxes and text messages.

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Mr Carr senior was acquitted and awarded full costs of £35,000 – but said his reputation was "tainted" by the allegations.

He won apologies from the Metropolitan Police and Crown Prosecution Service for pressing ahead with the case. He also won a settlement from the police.

Now he feels he has finally cleared his name after officers tore up his fingerprint records, deleted his DNA records and mugshots, and removed his name from the Police National Computer.

Mr Carr is believed to be one of the first people to have had their name removed from the criminal National DNA Database without the help of a lawyer.

He said: "I feel that I've proven the point that the system ought not to be able to keep the DNA and details of innocent people.

"When a judge finds you innocent he should instruct the system to wipe your records.

"There are a lot of hurdles to clear to make it happen, but it is possible. "I have had no problem with the police during all of this; the individual officers have been very co-operative.

"But the system is not designed to be helpful.

"The CPS should be liable for bad work. You can't sue them unless it's proved they acted with malice.

"Imagine not being able to sue your builder when your house falls down because he was only incompetent, not malicious. It's ridiculous."

Mr Carr has not spoken to Jimmy, 35, or Colin, 36, since the court case.

He last saw Jimmy at one of the comedian's shows in Guildford, Surrey, but left at the interval without attempting to speak to his son.

He said: "I'm proud of what he's achieved but not the way he's achieved it. I want him to want to speak to me, but I'm not going to approach him."

The sons made the complaint against their father after a rift developed over who would look after their youngest brother Patrick, who was 15 when their mother died in September 2001.

Mr Carr, who was Patrick's legal guardian, claimed they had "kidnapped" the boy and refused to tell him where he was living.

They accused him of harassment when he sent faxes and texts asking them to sort out the situation.

But District Judge Graham Parsons told him: "I fail to see what else you could humanly have done."