MPs 'dismayed' that police continue to compile database of faces

A committee of MPs has condemned police for continuing to upload custody photographs, including of people never charged, to a face recognition database, despite a high court judgement that ruled the practice was unlawful. In a report into use of biometric data, the Commons Science and Technology Committee said it was "dismayed" to learn that more than 12m photographs had been entered into the Police National Database without proper testing or oversight. It also noted that current practice appeared to flout a high court ruling from 2012 that said the contemporary policy of retaining custody photographs was unlawful. Some forces, including the Met, have stopped putting images on the national database until the law is clarified. But others have continued to upload photographs in the absence of any national guidance.