Commenting on plans to install permanent facial recognition cameras on Oxford Street, Big Brother Watch’s Senior Legal and Policy Officer Jasleen Chaggar said:
“Plans to turn the newly walkable Oxford Street into a permanent digital police line-up using live facial recognition software would be a mistake.
“Innocent Londoners who are not suspected of any crime by the police should be able to wander around public spaces without identifying themselves to the authorities.
“A face scan is as unique as a fingerprint. The police cannot take your fingerprints when you are not suspected of wrongdoing. Taking a faceprint is no less intrusive just because it happens remotely.
“The West End rivals the best cities in the world for its culture and nightlife. The Mayor should abandon the plans to roll out Orwellian biometric software which would instead place London in the company of authoritarian regimes.”