Facial recognition has been creeping into British life as the government looks the other way

Analysis: ​While police forces have been taken to court over technology, private companies have been allowed to implement it covertly, Lizzie Dearden writes

A public information poster displayed during a Met trial in Stratford, London (Sian Berry)

Facial recognition is once again in the spotlight after revelations that the controversial technology has been covertly used in public spaces across England.

The King’s Cross estate in London, Meadowhall shopping centre in Sheffield, the World Museum in Liverpool and the Millennium Point conference centre in Birmingham are among the locations where members of the public have been unwittingly scanned.

While police have been heavily criticised for trials of facial recognition with “staggeringly inaccurate” results, private companies have been able to implement it without public knowledge or consent.