Police taken to High Court over use of live recognition cameras after knife crime campaigner’s ‘human rights were violated’ when he was wrongly identified as a suspect
The Metropolitan Police is facing a High Court battle over the use of live recognition cameras after a knife-fighting advocate had his ‘human rights violated’ when he was mistakenly identified as a suspect.
Shaun Thompson, 39, a respected black community worker, was wrongly flagged as a criminal after being pulled over at London Bridge station.
Mr Thompson, who was held for an uncomfortable 30 minutes under threat of arrest, was actually returning home from Croydon after a voluntary shift in knife fighting.
Silkie Carlo, director of UK civil liberties campaign group Big Brother Watch, is suing the High Court on Mr Thompson’s behalf, arguing it violates his privacy under the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR).
Ms Carlo argued that the installation of the cameras was so ‘permissive’ that it breached Article 8 of the ECHR and was ‘unlawful’.
The Metropolitan Police was one of the first forces to pioneer the technology and is one of 13 forces that have now used or are currently using live facial recognition (LFR) cameras.
Sir Keir Starmer is said to be keen to increase the use of live cameras, which work by taking digital images of passing pedestrians and feeding them into a computer using biometric software to measure facial features.
The footage is compared to a watch list, and if a match is detected, an alert is sent to officers to consider making an arrest. If a member of the public is not wanted by the police, their biometrics will be deleted immediately.
Shaun Thompson, 39, a respected black community worker, was wrongly flagged as an offender after being pulled over at LondonBridge station.
The Metropolitan Police was one of the first forces to pioneer the technology and is one of 13 forces that have now used or are currently using live facial recognition (LFR) cameras.
LDR cameras work by taking digital images of crossing pedestrians and feeding them to a computer to measure facial features using biometric software.
The Met Police say the cameras are legal, necessary, proportionate and targeted at hotspots of crime. The force claims only 10 out of three million images received ‘false alerts’.
But Big Brother Watch director Ms Carlo claims the deployment of LFR has expanded crime hotspots and is being used in critical national infrastructure, public events and locations where officers rely on crime intelligence.
Ms Carlo and Mr Thompson gave expert evidence in which they argued that the majority of public spaces in London fell within the broad definition of ‘crime hotspot’.
They argue this means there is no ‘meaningful restriction’ on the deployment of live facial recognition in the capital.
Mr Thompson was detained by officers after being mistakenly flagged by cameras while crossing London Bridge in February 2024.
He claimed that police officers requested identification documents, fingerprint scans and examined him for scars and tattoos in an attempt to confirm he was a suspect.
Mr. Thompson said he was threatened with arrest even though he produced identification documents proving he had been identified by mistake.
He described police’s live facial recognition technology as ‘stop and search on steroids’.
Silkie Carlo, director of Big Brother Watch, said: ‘The possibility of being subjected to digital ID checks by the police without our consent, almost anywhere, at any time, is a serious breach of our civil liberties that has transformed London.
‘LFR, when used as a tool of mass surveillance, subverts the presumption of innocence and destroys any notion of privacy in our capital.’
Ms Carlo also argued in the legal challenge that the Metropolitan Police’s use of the LFR violated individuals’ rights to freedom of expression and assembly, protected by Articles 10 and 11 of the ECHR.
He said the ‘overly broad discretion’ had a ‘chilling’ effect on individuals’ ability to protest.
“This legal challenge is an important step towards protecting the public from unauthorized surveillance,” Ms. Carlo added.
It comes as Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood defends plans to roll out live facial recognition to all 43 police forces in England and Wales.
“Of course, it must be used in a way that is consistent with our values and does not lead to innocent people being caught up in cases they shouldn’t be involved in,” he told LBC
‘But this technology works. This has already led to 1,700 arrests in the Met alone. ‘I think it has great potential.’
Ms Mahmood also announced that the number of LFR vans will triple under the plan, with 50 vans available for use by every police force in England and Wales.
British police forces will receive a high-tech upgrade as Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood announced more than £140 million in funding for technology, including 50 facial recognition vehicles per police force (pictured)
Under current rules, the technology can only be used to search watchlists of wanted criminals, suspects or people subject to bail or court order conditions.
The government says the technology will be ‘subject to data protection, equality and human rights laws’ and that faces flagged by the facial recognition system will also need to be reviewed and approved by officers before action is taken.
Still, rights groups have raised concerns about the proliferation of this surveillance technology.
Matthew Feeney, Advocacy Manager at Big Brother Watch, said: ‘The expansion of facial recognition on this scale would be an unprecedented development in liberal democracies and represents the latest in a distressing trend.
‘Police across the UK have already scanned the faces of millions of innocent people doing nothing but spending their days on high streets across the country.’
The government is also yet to complete the facial recognition consultation, which would provide a legal framework for the implementation of live facial recognition.
A Met police spokesman said: ‘We are confident that our use of Live Facial Recognition (LFR) is lawful, proportionate and necessary and we welcome the opportunity to demonstrate this.
‘LFR has helped us find and arrest more than 1,700 dangerous criminals since the start of 2024, including people wanted for rape, child abuse and other serious crimes.
‘This is a vital and highly effective policing tool that helps us keep Londoners safe.
‘We have strict safeguards to protect people’s rights and privacy. Independent testing confirms that the technology performs consistently across demographic groups, and our operational data shows an exceptionally low false alert rate of just 0.0003 percent.
‘Most importantly, if a member of the public passes by an LFR camera and is not on the watch list, their biometric data will be immediately and permanently deleted.
‘Public trust is important. Eighty-five percent of Londoners support the use of LFR and we will continue to communicate openly with our communities to build understanding of how the technology works.
‘We are committed to providing clear assurance that stringent controls, oversight and management are in place at every stage to protect people’s rights and privacy.’
