UK police tracking motorists

The UK government is considering giving police full access to data collected from traffic cameras in order to track the movement of cars. The proposal was revealed in a leaked Home Office document and follows previous comments by Home Office Minister Tony McNulty that real-time data from London's 1,500 traffic cameras would be handed over to police on a trial basis, Reuters reports.

Under the current set-up, police have to request permission to access data from the number-plate reading cameras on an individual basis, but according to the leaked document this rule could be abolished permanently.

Such a move would give police the power to monitor drivers without any conflict and has been condemned by civil rights groups as just another step towards a ‘big brother’ society. Conversely, a spokesman from the Home Office explains that by giving police access to the automatic car recognition data events like the recent London car bombings could be prevented.