The police LFR van in Finsbury Park earlier this month

POLICE have defended their decision to deploy live facial recognition (LFR) cameras in Finsbury Park as they were brought before councillors who had voted against the use of the technology.

Questions were asked about why the Met Police had decided to use LFR and where they did – around the corner from Finsbury Park mosque – one year after the council had unanimously voted to oppose it.

Chief Superintendent Jason Stewart, who leads policing in Camden and Islington, told a Town Hall committee on Monday the force had to be “match fit” for the year 2025, adding: “I understand what you are saying about the council motion, but ultimately we believe this is the correct thing to do for our communities, and we have used it as an operationally independent tactic.”

Met Commissioner Sir Mark Rowley said last week that the technology is only used when there is an “intelligence basis to do so”. This was why, he said, LFR had not been deployed during Tommy Robinson’s recent rally.

But Chief Supt Stewart said that data showing that Finsbury Park was a “hotspot” for crime was the only intelligence required for a decision to deploy there, meaning it could be used in that area at any time.

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Chief Inspector Katie Geal said there had been communication with communities prior to the deployment, and that they had later reassured representa­tives that the cameras were not pointing towards the entrance.

A spokesperson from Finsbury Park Mosque told the Tribune, however, that the management had not been contacted, there had been no written communication, and that to his knowledge no one at the mosque had been informed that the police planned to use the live facial recognition technology.

“They didn’t send us anything in writing or via email,” he said. “They spoke to security. I can’t confirm the conversation because I wasn’t there, but what I understood from the security was that they were going to park the car and there will be a police operation in place.”

The spokesperson added: “Communication should be better than what it was before. There are some issues in relation to trust between the police and the public. This is why the police should be more careful when they deal with these things. It’s going to increase mistrust.”

Last month the Equality and Human Rights Commission said the technology should only be used in a necessary and proportionate way, and that “the Metropolitan Police’s current policy falls short of this standard”.

The Met argue that the technology has been a success and led to the arrest of 1,300 criminals in London.