saying the way it is being deployed is breaching human rights law. The tech works by scanning the faces of people recorded on CCTV and then comparing them against a watchlist of people who the police are seeking.

The Met says it has made more than 1,000 arrests since January 2024 using LFR and is confident it uses it in a lawful way. But the Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC) says the tech should only be used in a necessary and proportionate way, and is arguing "the Metropolitan Police's current policy falls short of this standard."

The EHRC has been granted permission to intervene in an upcoming judicial review into the force's use of the surveillance tool.

John Kirkpatrick, chief executive of the EHRC, acknowledged the tech could be used help to combat serious crime and keep people safe. But he added in a statement: "There must be clear rules which guarantee that live facial recognition technology is used only where necessary, proportionate and constrained by appropriate safeguards. We believe that the Metropolitan Police's current policy falls short of this standard."

A Met Police spokesperson told the BBC: "We believe our use of LFR is both lawful and proportionate, playing a key role in keeping Londoners safe." They added: "The Court of Appeal has confirmed the police can use LFR under Common Law powers, with the Met carefully developing a policy to operate the technology in a way which protects people's rights and privacy." (BBC)