Met's facial recognition plan unlawful, claims watchdog

Scotland Yard's plan to widen the use of live facial recognition technology is unlawful because it is incompatible with human rights laws, the equalities regulator has said.

- Rajeev Syal

As the UK's biggest force prepares to use instant face-matching cameras at this weekend's Notting Hill carnival, the Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC) said its use was intrusive and could have a "chilling effect" on individuals' rights.

The development will be a blow to Mark Rowley, the Metropolitan police commissioner, who has backed the use of the technology at mass events such as the carnival, when 2 million people are expected to descend upon west London.

The EHRC has been given permission to intervene in a judicial review launched last month by the anti-knife campaigner Shaun Thompson. Thompson, a Black British man, was wrongly identified by live facial recognition (LFR) as a criminal, held by police, and then faced demands from officers for his fingerprints.