POLICE

have issued a £90 fine to a man who tried to cover his face to hide his identity. When he learned that officers were testing facial recognition equipment, the pedestrian pulled down his cap and pulled up his jumper to conceal his mouth and nose. As he walked past the cops, they stopped him and then, when he complained, threatened to arrest him, and issued the fine for ‘disorderly behaviour’. Police say they need the technology to spot known criminals and terrorists. But if you give them the power, they will always, always abuse it. This incident, in Romford, Essex, was caught on film by a BBC camera crew. Yes, the police have a duty to keep us safe. But our surveillance society is already the most intrusive in the so-called ‘free’ world. San Francisco this week became the first city in the U.S. to ban the use of facial recognition technology. Others are expected to follow suit. What bothers me, apart from the principle of indiscriminate state snooping on innocent individuals, is who will be targeted. Can you imagine the Met setting up cameras at Marble Arch and threatening to arrest any woman in a burka who refuses to lift her face veil? And during the recent ‘climate emergency’ demos in London, protesters were allowed to wear masks and, when they refused even to give their names after being arrested, were simply let off by the courts. We’re in danger of ending up with one law for masked middle-class eco-mentalists — and another for white, working-class men from Romford.