Campaign group and London Assembly member crowd fund legal challenge to stop Mayor of London giving ‘Orwellian surveillance network’ of ANPR data to Met Police

The Open Rights Group and London Assembly Member Sian Berry are crowd funding a legal challenge to the Mayor of London over his decision to expand the scope of data-sharing with the Metropolitan Police from Transport for London’s (TfL’s) Automated Number-Plate Recognition road cameras.

In 2014, the then Mayor, Boris Johnson, granted the Met Police 'limited access' to textual data in TfL's Automated Number-plate recognition road cameras.

Sadiq Khan expanded the scope of data available in May 2022 to include enhanced contextual imagery data from road cameras, which could contain images of drivers, the make and colour of vehicles and pedestrians.

On their Crowd Justice page, the Open Rights Group and Ms Berry warned that “this could get even worse”, with proposals to expand the Ultra-Low Emission Zone (ULEZ) from the end of 2023 to cover the whole of Greater London.

They claimed that this “means every single car and driver in Greater London will potentially be subject to future surveillance by the Metropolitan Police. This was done with a stroke of a pen, without any meaningful public consultation.”

They described the expanded and enhanced data sharing between TfL and the Metropolitan Police as 'Orwellian surveillance' of Londoners.

The key arguments to their potential legal challenge include:

• The proposed expanded and enhanced data sharing between TfL and the Met Police is unlawful and in violation of people’s basic privacy rights.
• The decision to expand the ULEZ was made without a ‘meaningful public consultation.’

The Open Rights Group and Ms Berry aim to raise £30,000 through donations from the public to fund their legal costs. So far they have raised more than £10,000.

They have written to the London Mayor to put him on notice of their claim, instructing claimant law firm Bindmans to "put the brakes on this expanded and intrusive surveillance regime".

A spokesperson for the Mayor of London said: “Modern technology has a vital role to play in protecting Londoners and tackling serious crime. The use of traffic cameras for ANPR has been in place since 2015 after being introduced by the previous Mayor. We are considering the letter and will respond in due course.”

News of the crowdfunding comes shortly after the Biometrics and Surveillance Camera Commissioner questioned the legality of the proposed extension in the use of ANPR to help enforce the expanded ULEZ in London.

Fraser Sampson said members of the ANPR Independent Advisory Group (IAG), which he chairs, had expressed concerns that an extension on ANPR functions was not justified, and there was limited evidence it would benefit society.

The Commissioner said that if local authorities are intending to use ANPR to support clean air zones, they must follow the Surveillance Camera Code as a matter of law.

Croydon Council has meanwhile come out against the ULEZ expansion plans, due to concerns over the economic pressures they would place on their most vulnerable residents.

If vehicles do not meet the emission standard, families will have to pay £12.50 a day to drive within the widened ULEZ.

Although the council have an ongoing commitment to carbon neutrality, they argue a large scale move away from car use would require public transport improvements.

Jason Perry, Mayor of Croydon, said: "I have urged the Mayor of London to reconsider current ULEZ expansion proposals and work with, rather than penalise, outer London boroughs like ourselves to improve sustainable transport and air quality for all.”

Lottie Winson