Immediate: 12th January 2010

Yesterday, on the same day that the European Court of Human Rights ruled that stop and search powers under the Terrorism Act are too wide[1], it emerged that City of London police are claiming they may demand identification from photographers – powers that no legislation gives them.

In a statement given to Amateur Photographer [2], City of London Police said: ‘Photographers should carry identification where
possible and be prepared to answer questions about why they are taking photographs, if they are asked.’

Even under the controversial – from today arguably illegal – ’stop and account’ powers in the Terrorism Act 2000, police have no power arbitrarily to demand you identify yourself, let alone produce documents on the spot. They can only do so in connection with the investigation of a suspected offence.[3]

Phil Booth, NO2ID’s National Coordinator[4], said:

Even the Terrorism Act does not give police power to demand identification arbitrarily. In backing this ‘advice to photographers’ by vague menaces, the City force is trying to make it compulsory to carry ID in the square mile. Anyone with a mobile is a photographer nowadays.

It is not a free country where police make up powers to suit themselves. If what you are doing is lawful, then your identity is no business of the police.

This is a perfect illustration of the danger of the government’s ID scheme. They’ll say they ‘need to know’. They don’t. Official ID obsession means harassment for citizens – legally or illegally.

-ENDS-

Notes for editors:

1. Gillan and Quinton v the United Kingdom:
   ‘…the powers of authorisation and confirmation as well as those of stop and search… are neither sufficiently circumscribed nor subject to adequate legal safeguards against abuse. … .They are not therefore ‘in accordance with the law’.’
   See: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/newstopics/politics/lawandorder/6975087/Stop-and-search-under-terror-laws-unlawful-Europe-rules.html; Liberty conducted the case
2. Amateur Photographer, 12 January 2010 http://www.amateurphotographer.co.uk/news/Police_Photographers_should_carry_identification_news_292902.html
3. Taking photographs is rarely an offence.‘Officers should be reminded that it is not an offence for a member of the public or journalist to take photographs of a public building and use of cameras by the public does not ordinarily permit use of stop and search power,’Chief Constable Andrew Trotter has written, setting out ACPO’s opinion.
4. NO2ID is the UK-wide non-partisan campaign against ID cards and the database state. See http://www.no2id.net/dbstate for a list of ‘database state’ initiatives that NO2ID is actively opposing, and http://www.no2id.net/datasharing for how it all fits together.

For further information, or for immediate or future interview, please contact:

• Phil Booth (National Co-ordinator, national.coordinator@no2id.net) on 07974 230 839
• Guy Herbert (General Secretary, general.secretary@no2id.net) on 07956 544 308 (Central London)
• Michael Parker (Press Officer, press.officer@no2id.net) on 07773 376 166

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