Giving strong government backing to the genetic revolution, Alan Milburn has claimed that the new technology will boost the political case for the NHS.

"Properly exploited, genetics strengthens the case for the values of the NHS," he said on Wednesday.

Announcing a new genetic research network, the health secretary argued that the NHS was uniquely placed to make best use of the cutting edge technology.

"There is no other health care system in the world better placed to harness the potential of genetic advances than the NHS," he said.

Seeking to counter the fears of pro-life and environmentalist campaigners concerned over advances in genetic treatments, Milburn controversially claimed that the new technology would diminish arguments for private health insurance.

"The values on which the NHS is based - providing care for all on the basis of need, not ability to pay - are uniquely suited to capturing the benefits of the genetics revolution. They provide a bulwark against the inequalities and inefficiencies of insurance-based health systems where the prospect of a "genetic superclass" of the well and insurable, and a "genetic underclass" of the unwell and uninsurable, unable to pay the premiums for medical care, is for many a very real threat," he told the Genetic and Health conference. "The values of Britain's NHS mean citizens can choose to take genetic tests free from the fear that should they test positive they face an enormous bill for insurance or treatment or become priced out of care or cover altogether."

"As our understanding of genetics advances, the case for private health insurance as an alternative to the NHS diminishes."

Six genetic knowledge parks are to be set up and two new national genetic reference laboratories will be built in Salisbury and Manchester, and giving the firmest government support for the new science to date, Milburn maintained that the NHS should offer more gene therapy rather than invasive surgery, more genetic screening, and more drugs tailored to the personal genetic profile of the patient.

"In time we should be able to assess the risk an individual has of developing disease, not just for single gene disorders like cystic fibrosis, but for our country's biggest killers - cancer and heart disease," he said. "The potential is immense. While genetics will never mean a disease-free existence, greater understanding of genetics is one of our best allies in the war against cancer."