A cross-party coalition of 65 British lawmakers called on Friday (6) for a pause in use of live facial recognition surveillance on the country's streets.
The use of the technology in Britain has long been criticised by civil liberties groups such as Amnesty International, and faces a blanket ban in the European Union.
British police have previously deployed live facial recognition at a number of large-scale public events, including the recent coronation of King Charles II.
The move comes after policing minister Chris Philp, speaking at the ruling Tories' annual conference this week, suggested a new database of British passports could be used to catch criminals through biometric surveillance, drawing criticism from some.
In a joint statement published on Friday, lawmakers from across the political spectrum said: "We call on UK police and private companies to immediately stop using live facial recognition for public surveillance."
Signatories included veteran Tory MP David Davis, Labour politicians Diane Abbott and John McDonnell, and Liberal Democrat leader Ed Davey.
A number of non-profits and charities backed the campaign, including Big Brother Watch, the Runnymede Trust and Foxglove.
"This dangerously authoritarian technology has the potential to turn populations into walking ID cards in a constant police line-up," said Silkie Carlo, director of Big Brother Watch.
"There must be an urgent stop to live facial recognition, parliamentary scrutiny, and a much wider democratic debate before we introduce such privacy-altering technology to British life."
(Reuters)
Clifford had previously pleaded guilty to the murders of BBC sports commentator John Hunt’s wife and two daughters at their home in northwest of London, in July 2024. (Photo: Hertfordshire Police /Handout via REUTERS)
Crossbow murderer found guilty of raping ex-girlfriend
A 26-YEAR-OLD man who murdered three women in a crossbow and stabbing attack has been found guilty of raping one of them, his ex-girlfriend, a British court ruled on Thursday.
Kyle Clifford had previously pleaded guilty to the murders of BBC sports commentator John Hunt’s wife and two daughters at their home in Bushey, northwest of London, in July 2024.
The attack led to a manhunt before Clifford was found injured hours later in a north London cemetery.
A jury at Cambridge Crown Court on Thursday convicted Clifford of raping 25-year-old Louise Hunt before killing her.
His sentencing for all the crimes is scheduled for Tuesday.
Clifford had admitted to murdering Carol Hunt, 61, and her daughters Louise and Hannah, 28. He had also pleaded guilty to charges of false imprisonment and possessing offensive weapons but denied raping Louise.
During the trial, the court heard that after killing Carol Hunt, Clifford waited for an hour before attacking Louise, tying her up, raping her, and then killing her with a crossbow. He later killed Hannah when she returned home from work.
The prosecution described Clifford, a former soldier, as committing a "violent, sexual act of spite" and said he was "enraged" after Louise ended their 18-month relationship. They told the court that he had "carefully planned" the attack.
Less than 24 hours before the killings, Clifford had searched for a podcast by social media influencer Andrew Tate, according to the prosecution. They argued that the murders were driven by the "violent misogyny promoted" by Tate.
Justice Joel Bennathan called Clifford’s crimes "dreadful" and "almost unspeakable".
(With inputs from AFP)