The genetics revolution in healthcare will strengthen the case for the NHS, the health secretary has said.

Linking advances in medical treatment to the government's vision of an increasingly personalised health service, John Reid told MPs that the benefits of new technology could be balanced with ethical concerns.

The statement came as the government published a white paper on the controversial issue.

Reid announced that there would be an extra £50 million to boost the use of genetics technology by the NHS in England.

And £2.5 million is to be spent on researching a gene therapy cure for cystic fibrosis.

New legislation will also prevent the testing of an individual's DNA without their consent.

"Genetics has the potential to bring immense benefits to patients," Reid told the Commons.

"The values of the NHS... are uniquely suited to capturing the benefits of the genetic revolution."

Reid claimed the national health service would prevent the emergence of a "genetic underclass" unable to gain access to private health insurance.

"As our understanding of genetics increases, the case for private insurance as an alternative to the NHS weakens."

He said ministers would put in place a "rigorous" regulatory framework to address "very real" ethical concerns.

Earlier on Tuesday, the health secretary joined forces with genetics experts at a breakfast meeting attended by the prime minister this morning.

Tony Blair said gene therapy and genetic testing would "make an enormous difference" to the NHS.

"I think it will change the whole way we deliver healthcare in this country," he said.

But he conceded there were downsides which would have to be addressed by ministers.

"It will also raise a whole series of ethical issues. There are tremendous opportunities in it but there are also some risks," Blair said.

Following the decoding of the human genome, the government is keen to set the parameters of the debate, but insists that the discovery of the human fingerprint can transform future health treatments.

Ministers say genetic developments can be used to detect single gene disorders like cystic fibrosis and the biggest killers such as cancer and coronary heart disease as well as those like diabetes.

Despite fears over "Frankenstein" science, ministers believe embracing genetic medicine can remove the "trial and error" common in medical practice.

Finding out which patients are predisposed towards certain illnesses will allow health professionals to act well before the illness becomes life threatening.

The announcement was welcomed by the opposition who called on the minister to ensure that the safeguards address the real concerns of many people in the country.

However, shadow health secretary Liam Fox said that many European countries would be offended by the suggestion that their social insurance-based healthcare systems would be unable to make the best of the new genetic treatments.