Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps he has taken to ensure the criteria used for Police watch lists does not intrude on individual privacy.

For the recent live facial recognition trials, police have compiled bespoke watch lists of individuals depending on the needs of the deployment. This includes people wanted for serious offences, those banned from attending the event, or known criminals that operate in a crowded space.

The police’s selection of images that are used to compile watch lists is governed by data protection legislation and human rights law.

The National Police Chiefs’ Council is currently drafting operational advice to police forces on the conduct of trials, including the creation of watch lists. The Facial Images and New Biometrics Oversight and Advisory Board will review the advice.