UK facial recognition oversight lagging as police double face scans and retailers expand use, watchdogs warn

The Metropolitan police scanned more than 1.7 million faces in London so far this year hunting for suspects on watchlists, up 87% on the same period in 2025, while retailers including Sainsbury's, Budgens and Sports Direct use Facewatch facial recognition systems in some shops.

Prof William Webster, the biometrics commissioner for England and Wales, warned the 'slow pace of legislation was trying to catch up with the real world' and said regulation could take 'three years, at a minimum, before regulation is in place and active.' Dr Brian Plastow, the same role in Scotland, said the technology was 'nowhere near as effective as the police claim it is' and warned of a 'patchwork legal framework' throughout the UK.

Members of the public have reported being wrongly labelled as suspected criminals by shops using AI cameras with no accountability or recourse to complain, describing the Information Commissioner's Office as 'toothless' and unresponsive. A whistleblower claimed shop-based face-scanning systems had sometimes been misused by shop or security staff 'maliciously' adding members of the public to watchlists.

Polling by Opinium of 2,000 adults found 57% believe the systems are 'another step towards turning the UK into a surveillance society,' and 62% worried about the technology getting people into trouble for things they had not done. Big Brother Watch said it had been contacted by 21 people during the past year who believed they had been wrongly placed on watchlists or misidentified.