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| Version 0 | Version 1 |
|---|---|
| Police 'to access road cameras' | Police 'to access road cameras' |
| (about 3 hours later) | |
| Ministers are considering a plan to allow police in England and Wales to use traffic cameras when investigating all forms of crime. | Ministers are considering a plan to allow police in England and Wales to use traffic cameras when investigating all forms of crime. |
| A Home Office document released accidentally suggests police should be given instant access to cameras which monitor congestion and road charging. | A Home Office document released accidentally suggests police should be given instant access to cameras which monitor congestion and road charging. |
| The government earlier cleared the way for Scotland Yard to see pictures from London's congestion charge cameras. | The government earlier cleared the way for Scotland Yard to see pictures from London's congestion charge cameras. |
| Campaign group Liberty said such measures would be "disproportionate". | |
| Under the proposals, anti-terror officers will be exempted from parts of the Data Protection Act. | |
| They will be allowed to see the date, time and location of vehicles in real time, when previously they had to apply for access on a case-by-case basis. | They will be allowed to see the date, time and location of vehicles in real time, when previously they had to apply for access on a case-by-case basis. |
| Home Secretary Jacqui Smith blamed the "enduring vehicle-borne terrorist threat to London" for the change. | Home Secretary Jacqui Smith blamed the "enduring vehicle-borne terrorist threat to London" for the change. |
| Police are believed to have used the cameras to trace the routes taken by the two Mercedes cars used in last month's alleged attempted bomb attacks in London. | Police are believed to have used the cameras to trace the routes taken by the two Mercedes cars used in last month's alleged attempted bomb attacks in London. |
| But the Home Office said discussions were under way on giving police greater access to data before the discovery of the two car bombs. | But the Home Office said discussions were under way on giving police greater access to data before the discovery of the two car bombs. |
| National security | National security |
| Under the new rules, anti-terror officers will be able to view pictures in "real time" from Transport for London's (Tfl) 1,500 cameras, which use Automatic Number Plate Recognition (ANPR) technology to link cars with owners' details. | Under the new rules, anti-terror officers will be able to view pictures in "real time" from Transport for London's (Tfl) 1,500 cameras, which use Automatic Number Plate Recognition (ANPR) technology to link cars with owners' details. |
| But they will only be able to use the data for national security purposes and not to fight ordinary crime, the Home Office stressed. | But they will only be able to use the data for national security purposes and not to fight ordinary crime, the Home Office stressed. |
| The director of the human rights group Liberty, Shami Chakrabati, told BBC Radio 4's Today programme access to information from cameras should depend on the severity of a crime. | |
| She described the proposed use of information from cameras across the country by police as "probably disproportionate". | |
| "I would want to know that more is going to be done to get the proportionality right," she added. | |
| The Metropolitan Police will produce an annual report for the Information Commissioner, the government's data protection watchdog who oversees how material from CCTV cameras is used. | The Metropolitan Police will produce an annual report for the Information Commissioner, the government's data protection watchdog who oversees how material from CCTV cameras is used. |
| The scheme will also be reviewed in three months' time after an interim report by Met Commissioner Sir Ian Blair. | The scheme will also be reviewed in three months' time after an interim report by Met Commissioner Sir Ian Blair. |
| Congestion charge cameras form a ring around central London to enforce the £8-a-day toll. | Congestion charge cameras form a ring around central London to enforce the £8-a-day toll. |
| Although charges are only in force at peak times, the system runs 24 hours a day, a TfL spokesman said. | Although charges are only in force at peak times, the system runs 24 hours a day, a TfL spokesman said. |