DNA checks may land jealous types in court

Loosely regulated firms are offering testing of clothes and sheets, but suspicious partners may be breaking the law
Dominic West strikes up an extramarital affair with Ruth Wilson in the TV series The Affair
Dominic West strikes up an extramarital affair with Ruth Wilson in the TV series The Affair
STEVEN LIPPMAN

DNA analysis firms are selling “infidelity tests” that encourage customers who suspect a partner of having an affair to collect evidence secretly — such as underwear, bedsheets or a condom — to send to a laboratory.

Overseas companies that advertise “catch a cheat” services, including those based in America and Ireland, refuse to process samples from the UK. This is because possessing someone’s “bodily material” with intent to perform DNA analysis on it without their consent is a crime under the Human Tissue Act 2004, punishable by three years in prison.

However, UK-based companies are offering infidelity tests, a Sunday Times investigation has found. The companies place the onus for obtaining consent on the customer. They are not required to have accreditation to operate in