CIVIL liberty campaigners pledged to fight plans to roll out facial recognition technology to all police forces across England and Wales.

Overriding concerns, Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood claimed that the technology would cut crime, despite often being entirely inaccurate.

Boosting camera vans from 10 to 50, Ms Mahmood claimed: “New technology has the ability to help us go after criminals and bring more people to justice.

“Of course, it has to be used in a way that is in line with our values, doesn’t lead to innocent people being caught up in cases they shouldn’t have been involved in.”

Liberty slammed the government for announcing the rollout while supposedly still in the midst of a public consultation.

External relations director Ruth Ehrlich said that “rolling out powerful surveillance tools while a consultation is still under way undermines public trust and shows disregard for our fundamental rights,” adding: “The government must halt the rapid rollout of facial recognition technology, ensure safeguards are in place to protect each of us, and prioritise our rights.”

And Tory MP David Davis warned the technology could lead to miscarriages of justice, particularly for some ethnic minorities, and courts believing “computers rather than people.”

Big Brother Watch’s Matthew Feeney said: “Today’s announcement represents one of the most significant threats to civil liberties in the history of British policing.

“Sadly, this latest news justifies Big Brother Watch’s long-standing concerns that police will use facial recognition as a tool for mass surveillance.”

The High Court has agreed to hear a case bought by Big Brother Watch against the use of the technology by the Metropolitan Police, which has been deploying it for some years.