Outrage over police access to 50m driving licences to run face checks

New law poses risk of bias and threat to civil liberties, say critics

- Daniel Boffey

The police will be able to run facial recognition searches on a database containing images of Britain’s 50 million driving licence holders under a law change being quietly introduced by the government. Should the police wish to put a name to an image from CCTV or social media, the legislation could provide them with the powers to search for a match.

The change is contained in a single clause in a new criminal justice bill and could put every driver in the country in a permanent police lineup, according to privacy campaigners.

Facial recognition searches match the biometric measurements of an identified photograph – including those on driving licences – to images picked up elsewhere.

The intention to allow the police or the National Crime Agency (NCA) to exploit the UK’s driving licence records is not explicitly referenced in the bill or in its explanatory notes, raising criticism from leading academics that the government is “sneaking it under the radar”.

Once the bill is enacted, the home secretary, James Cleverly, must establish “driver information regulations” to enable the searches, but he will need only to consult police bodies, according to the bill.

The Home Office declined to comment or to respond with statements to questions.

Critics claim facial recognition technology poses a threat to the rights of individuals to privacy, freedom of expression, non-discrimination and freedom of assembly and association.