Murder charge after 27-year-old man is stabbed in Waltham Forest
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The Independent
10 minutes ago
- The Independent
Cooper defends live facial recognition technology expansion amid privacy row
The Home Secretary has defended the Government's expansion of live facial recognition technology as a 'targeted' crackdown on high-harm offenders, amid concerns over privacy. Yvette Cooper denied the technology was being used to catch lower-level crimes such as ticket-touting, as it has been previously in Wales, and said 'safeguards and protections' will govern its deployment. Critics including Labour peer Baroness Shami Chakrabarti have attacked new plans to roll out 10 vans equipped with facial recognition technology across seven police forces in England as part of a Government overhaul of neighbourhood policing. The former shadow attorney general said the expansion was a step towards a 'total surveillance society' in the UK. Asked whether the rollout would infringe on people's privacy, Ms Cooper said: 'Well, the way this technology is being used is to identify people who are wanted by the court, who maybe should be returned to prison, or who have failed to appear before the court, or who have breached things like sexual harm prevention orders, so serious criminals. 'And I think being able to identify them, alongside having proper legal safeguards and a legal framework in place because there do have to be safeguards and protections, but we also need to be able to use the technology to catch dangerous criminals and to keep communities safe.' In 2017, South Wales Police said facial recognition was being used to track suspects including ticket touts as the force prepared for the Champions League final in Cardiff. Pressed on whether she was happy for the technology to be deployed in this way, she said: 'No, that's not how they've (police in South Wales) used it. 'They used it for targeting where there's serious organised crime, where there are criminal gangs, but in every case that they do use it, they need to obviously have safeguards in place and we need to make sure that we've got a new legal framework for it to be operating under, and also that it can be used to tackle serious crimes and keep communities safe.' Ministers have said a new legal framework will be drawn up to support use of the technology following a consultation launching this autumn. Checks would only be done against police watchlists of wanted criminals, suspects and those subject to bail or court order conditions such as sex offenders, the Home Office said. The vans would be deployed across seven forces – Greater Manchester, West Yorkshire, Bedfordshire, Surrey, Sussex, Thames Valley and Hampshire – in the coming weeks. They would be manned by trained officers operating within College of Policing guidance. But Lady Chakrabarti said the technology was 'incredibly intrusive' and had been 'developed pretty much completely outside the law'. 'Some would say this is yet another move towards a total surveillance society – challenges to privacy, challenges to freedom of assembly and association, and problems with race and sex discrimination because of the higher likelihood of false matches in the context of certain groups,' she told BBC Radio 4's Today programme. 'It's particularly odd that this has all been developed pretty much completely outside the law.' She welcomed plans to consult ahead of possible new legislation, but warned that to date, 'it's been a bit of a Wild West'. Policing minister Dame Diana Johnson dismissed the claims, telling BBC Breakfast: 'With the greatest of respect, that's not what this is about. 'This is about giving the tools to our police officers to enable them to keep us safe.' Forces already deploying live facial recognition had used it to arrest rape, domestic abuse, knife crime and robbery suspects as well as sex offenders breaching their conditions. Meanwhile, the Home Office said every community across England and Wales had now been assigned a 'named, contactable' officer to handle reports of crimes such as anti-social behaviour. Their details would be made available for residents on their local force's website, it is understood. The pledge was made as part of the Government's previously announced Neighbourhood Policing Guarantee, under which forces have signed up to a commitment to respond to neighbourhood queries within 72 hours. The Government said the move would help ensure 'the public will have consistent direct links to their local force, with dedicated anti-social behaviour leads and new visible patrols in town centres'.
The Independent
10 minutes ago
- The Independent
Man who stepped into path of train carrying young boy jailed for 10 years
A suicidal man who attempted to murder a two-year-old boy by walking in front of a train while carrying the child has been jailed for 10 years. Frederick Danquah, 28, stepped in front of a train after a relationship breakdown with the child's mother. Both the child and Danquah were injured in the incident at Garrowhill railway station in Glasgow's east end on July 2, 2023. Danquah denied attempted murder and another charge of culpable and reckless conduct, regarding another incident on the same date, stating his mental condition as a defence, but he was convicted by a jury at the High Court in Glasgow last month. At the same court on Wednesday, the judge said the 'harm was of the greatest kind' and sentenced Danquah to 10 years in prison. He also imposed a non-harassment order until the child is 18. The court heard that earlier that day, Danquah tried to climb over a footbridge above the M8 in Glasgow with the child on his shoulders, after arguing with his ex-partner who told him she had 'moved on'. After posting a suicidal message on Facebook, he prepared a 'contingency plan' including a note with contact details, the court heard. Danquah collected the child from relatives and took him into Glasgow city centre and met his sister's partner, before he attempted to climb the bridge over the M8. He was spotted by police but 'reassured them', the court heard, before he travelled to Garrowhill station with the child and made an attempt on their lives. British Transport Police said Danquah sustained a broken jaw and fracture to his neck, while the child suffered cuts and bruises but no serious injuries, and the child was discharged from hospital two days later. Sentencing, Judge Tony Kelly said: 'You went to the platform, picked up [the child] and walked into the path of a train. You suffered injuries and [the child] was injured. 'To seek to take the life… over some hours is great criminality. I have no doubt about your intentions.' 'You were intent on taking your own life on July 2, 2023.' He said a train driver 'saw you step in the path of a train' and people involved in the rescue were in 'various stages of upset'. The court heard Danquah had no previous convictions and was involved in a Ghanian community group. Danquah made further attempts on his life including in December 2023, the court heard. Defending, Gary Allan said it was a 'horrible miracle' and Danquah was receiving psychiatric help since a 'one-off horror story took place at his own hand'. Mr Allan said Danquah had been 'beaten up by other prisoners', and jail 'will be living nightmare for him'.
The Independent
10 minutes ago
- The Independent
Driver who claimed electric car ‘went rogue' denies fraud charges
A motorist who claimed his luxury electric car accelerated 'on its own' on the motorway has made his first appearance in court charged with fraud. Nathan Owen, 32, called police for assistance on March 6 last year, to report his Jaguar I-Pace vehicle was speeding out of control and the brakes were not working. Officers scrambled to intercept the vehicle, which had travelled along the eastbound carriageways of the M57, M62 and M58 motorways in Merseyside before it was eventually brought to a stop. On Wednesday, Owen, from Prestatyn, North Wales, attended Liverpool Magistrates' Court, where he indicated not guilty pleas to dangerous driving, intentionally or recklessly causing a public nuisance and two counts of fraud. On the fraud matters, it is alleged that he made a false representation to CA Auto Finance that the Jaguar was faulty and was accelerating on its own with the brakes unresponsive. It is also said that he made the same claims to The Sun and Daily Mail newspapers, with the intention of causing loss to the Jaguar company or exposing it to risk of loss. Prosecutor Renee Southern told the court that it was the Crown's case that the defendant had 'persistently and dishonestly' claimed the vehicle was defective. She said Owen wanted to 'get rid' of the vehicle and thus avoid further payments totalling £4,426 to the finance company. Police made manoeuvres to box the Jaguar in, which led to motorway closures and substantial delays, the court heard. Owen, of The Grove, was released on unconditional bail to attend a further hearing at Liverpool Crown Court on September 10, when he is expected to enter formal pleas. Previously, he had reportedly said he was on his way home from work on the first day of his job as a children's support worker and feared he would die or kill someone else during the journey on March 6.
