Police start facial recognition trial at stations

British Transport Police (BTP) has begun a six‑month trial of live facial recognition technology, which will be deployed across several London stations.

The first operation is under way at London Bridge station, forming the initial phase of a pilot announced in November.

Ch Supt Chris Casey, BTP's senior officer overseeing the project, said: "I want to reiterate that this is a trial of the technology to assess how it performs in a railway setting."

The project has drawn criticism from campaigners, who describe the technology as "authoritarian" with "life-changing consequences when it makes mistakes".

Casey said a "significant amount of research and planning" had gone into the pilot, adding that the aim was to "make the railways a hostile place for individuals wanted for serious criminal offences, helping us keep the public safe".

The live facial recognition (LFR) cameras scan faces and compare them with a watchlist of people wanted for serious offences, BTP said.

Any potential match issues an alert, which is reviewed by an officer before further checks are made.

The force added that alternative routes would be available for anyone who did not want to enter the recognition zone, and that images of people not on the authorised database would be deleted immediately.

BTP said it would seek feedback on the trial, which can be submitted via QR codes displayed on posters, and that dates and locations of all LFR deployments would be published online in advance.

Following the announcement of the pilot, Matthew Feeney, advocacy manager at the campaign group Big Brother Watch, said: "We all want train passengers to travel safely, but subjecting law-abiding passengers to mass biometric surveillance is a disproportionate and disturbing response.

"Facial recognition technology remains unregulated in the UK and police forces are writing their own facial recognition rules, including those governing how they use the technology and who they place on watchlists."

Feeney said he believed the technology was "especially offensive in a democracy where neither the public nor Parliament has ever voted on its use".

The Met Police is currently facing a legal challenge over its own use of LFR from two campaigners who say the technology is being expanded without adequate safeguards.

The case, brought by Shaun Thompson, and Big Brother Watch director Silkie Carlo, was heard in the High Court on 27 and 28 January.

Thompson, 39, was stopped by police in February last year outside London Bridge Tube station.

He said officers asked him for his fingerprints, but he refused, and he was allowed to leave after about 30 minutes after showing them a photo of his passport.

He described LFR as "stop and search on steroids".

Big Brother Watch said the judicial review was the first case of its kind against the "intrusive technology".

Representing the Met, Anya Proops KC said that in 2025, up until 18 September, officers made 801 arrests "specifically as a result of LFR" and that the intrusion into the public's privacy was "only minimal".

The barrister continued: "The MPS (Metropolitan Police Service) uses LFR because it is a hugely effective policing tool, which substantially contributes to the MPS's ultimate objective of keeping the public safe."

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