Sainsbury's said: 'This was not an issue with the facial recognition technology in use but a case of the wrong person being approached in store.' Sainsbury's said: 'This was not an issue with the facial recognition technology in use but a case of the wrong person being approached in store.' Man misidentified by London supermarket using Facewatch system says: 'I shouldn't have to prove I am not a criminal' A man was ordered to leave a supermarket in London after staff misidentified him using controversial new facial recognition technology. Warren Rajah was told to abandon his shopping and leave the local store he has been using for a number of years after an "Orwellian" error in a Sainsbury's in Elephant and Castle, London. He said supermarket staff were unable to explain why he was being told to leave, and would only direct him to a QR code leading to the website of the firm Facewatch, which the retailer has hired to run facial recognition in some of its stores. He said when he contacted Facewatch, he was told to send in a picture of himself and a photograph of his passport before the firm confirmed it had no record of him on its database. "One of the reasons I was angry was because I shouldn't have to prove I am innocent," Rajah said.

Madeleine Stone, senior advocacy officer at privacy group BigBrotherWatch, said: "Sainsbury's decision to trial Orwellian facial recognition technology in its shops is deeply disproportionate and chilling. "Sainsbury's should abandon this trial and the government must urgently step in to prevent the unchecked spread of this invasive technology." Sainsbury's said incidents of theft, abuse and threatening behaviour "continue to rise" despite working with the police and government, adding that it is "affecting Sainsbury's teams across the UK daily". Mr Roberts, boss of the supermarket chain,added: "We have listened to the deep concerns our colleagues and customers have and they're right to expect us to act. "We understand that facial recognition technology can raise valid questions about data and privacy."

Electronic shelf labels, returns machines, robot bag packers and yet more self-service tills – just some of the many technologies that UK retailers are embracing as they try to solve the problem of rising labour costs. Investment in automation was a constant drumbeat amid the flurry of festive trading updates from big retailers in the past few weeks, as they face higher staffing bills from April after the rise in the national minimum wage and employers' national insurance contributions (NICs). The investments could improve productivity – a key government aim – in an industry long reliant on cheap labour. However, they will also replace entry-level jobs and reduce the number of roles in a sector that is the UK's biggest employer. When the British Retail Consortium asked leading retailers' finance directors how they would be responding to the impending increase in employers' NICs, almost a third said they would be using more automation, although this sat behind raising prices, cutting head office jobs and reducing working hours.

Forget fish and chips or sausage, mash, and gravy - when it comes to British lunches, it's the meal deal that rules supreme. According to the latest figures, 'meal deal mania' is at a record high in the UK, with over of a third of Britons indulging in the offer at least once a week. But with thousands of possible combinations of mains, sides, and drinks available, one key question remains – what is the ultimate British meal deal? To answer this burning question, MailOnline turned to AI chatbot, ChatGPT, which came up with a list of five top combinations. So, do you agree with its meal deal selection?

From the Big Four chains like Tesco and Sainsbury's to budget stores like Aldi, supermarkets have raced to embrace high-tech solutions in recent years. But going against the trend is high-end northern chain Booths, much to the delight of many customers. This week, the business announced it's ditching self-checkouts and putting staff back behind the tills so shoppers can'talk to people' again. Although the majority of UK supermarkets are rolling out new tech with rampant enthusiasm, here are the potential signs this year that the more traditional shopping experience may be returning. To the delight of the traditional shopper, high-end northern chain Booths has just announced it's ditching self-checkouts and putting staff back behind the tills so customers can'talk to people' again Many shoppers were glad to hear the news with one calling it'wonderful' that they staff'embracing the human touch' Booths – which has 27 stores in the North across Lancashire, Cumbria, Yorkshire and Cheshire – has been dubbed the northern Waitrose due to its focus on quality.

Whether it's turning off lights when not using them or bringing a reusable water bottle instead of buying a plastic one, many of us try to take measures to reduce our carbon footprint. Now, Sainsbury's has opened a new store that even makes your weekly food shop more eco-friendly. The'ground-breaking' store in Hook, Hampshire, is Sainsbury's most energy-efficient supermarket yet. It has several impressive features, including doors on chilled cabinets, 700 solar panels on the roof and even floor sensors that adjust the LED lights in response to natural light. 'This is a really proud moment for Sainsbury's as we launch a brilliant new supermarket that puts our commitment to reducing our impact on the environment into clear focus,' said Ryan Cox, Sainsbury's Hook Store Manager.

Welcome to the supermarkets of the future. They may look and feel like the supermarkets we are all used to – and stock the same bread, butter and bananas – but these shops are now fitted out with more than £1m of the latest technology that their bosses promise will put an end to our biggest frustration (queueing) and our most persistent crime (shoplifting). Jill French, a legal secretary in her 30s, wearing a sharp navy suit and matching beret, has just left a Tesco Express on London's Holborn Viaduct empty-handed. It's coming up to 6.30pm on a Thursday and, like dozens of others, French has popped in for a few essentials on her way home. "I just went in to grab pasta, milk and some broccoli," she says.

Amazon will open its first physical store outside the US today - but the shopping experience will be a bit different. Amazon Fresh is in Ealing, London, and it is much smaller than a supermarket. It will sell prepared meals, some groceries, and Amazon devices, as well as having a counter for collecting and returning online orders. Shoppers will scan a smartphone QR code to open the store's gates and their purchases will be tallied using ceiling cameras and shelf weight sensors. The technology can also register when someone has put an item back on the shelf, if they change their mind, for instance.

Bioengineers have designed a glove that is able to translate American Sign Language to speech in real time. The glove has thin, stretchable sensors inside which run to the fingertips. These sensors are able to pick up and motions and finger placement through electrically conducting yarns. Those sensors are then connected to a small piece of circuit board – approximately the size of a coin – that users wear on their wrists. As such, when people move their hands and fingers to sign words, the glove is able to translate the individual letters, numbers, words and phrases into spoken words.

Sainsbury's commercial and technology teams are working with Accenture to implement machine learning processes that they say are providing the retailer with better insight into consumer behaviour. Using the Google Cloud Platform (GCP), the key aim of the collaboration is to generate new insights on what consumers want and the trends driving their eating habits. By tapping into data from multiple structured and unstructured sources, the supermarket chain has developed predictive analytics models that it uses to adjust inventory based on the trends it spots. According to Alan Coad, managing director of Google Cloud in the UK and Ireland, the platform can "ingest, clean and classify that data", while a custom-built front-end interface for staff can be used "to seamlessly navigate through a variety of filters and categories" to generate the relevant insights. Phil Jordan, group CIO of Sainsbury's, said: "The grocery market continues to change rapidly. "We know our customers want high quality at great value and that finding innovative and distinctive products is increasingly important to them.