METROPOLITAN POLICE PLAN FACIAL RECOGNITION CAMERAS FOR OXFORD STREET

The Metropolitan Police plans to install permanent live facial recognition cameras on London’s Oxford Street, with installation expected in December. The cameras would scan people passing through the shopping area and compare their faces with a watchlist of wanted suspects. Oxford Street would become one of the first areas in Britain with permanent infrastructure for the technology. The cameras could be attached to lampposts or other street furniture, and the plans could affect Christmas shoppers.

The Metropolitan Police also plans to use fixed live facial recognition cameras in the West End and Soho. A stretch of Oxford Street is due to become pedestrianised next week, as part of plans to remove traffic from the whole street. The Government opened a consultation on a legal framework for police use of facial recognition and other biometric technology in December 2025. The consultation closed in February, and the Home Office is expected to publish its response later in this parliamentary session.

Akiko Hart, director of the human rights organisation Liberty, said the Oxford Street cameras would scan shoppers “without being given a choice”. She called for the rollout to pause until clear laws, safeguards and independent oversight are in place. The Metropolitan Police said a six-month trial of fixed cameras in Croydon contributed to a 10% reduction in crime and led to 173 arrests. It said officers would be present whenever fixed systems operated and signs would tell the public when the cameras were in use.