Bridges v South Wales Police (2020)
South Wales Police used live facial recognition at the 2017 Champions League final in Cardiff and in city-center deployments without public consent. Civil liberties campaigner Ed Bridges sued, and the Court of Appeal ruled the deployments unlawful.
The court found South Wales Police failed to assess equality duties and lacked lawful grounds to collect the biometric data of passersby.
The ruling set a precedent that police facial recognition requires a clear legal basis, pushing forces to strengthen justifications and the government to consider statutory frameworks.
The legal requirements this ruling established are the backdrop for the BTP trial and the UK government's plans for a dedicated biometric framework.
