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Written question asked by Shivani Raja (Conservative) on Monday, 13 July 2026, in the House of Commons. It was due for an answer on Thursday, 16 July 2026 (named day). A holding answer was provided on Thursday, 16 July 2026. A substantive answer was provided by Keir Mather (Labour) on Tuesday, 4 August 2026 on behalf of the Department for Transport.

Railway Stations: Biometrics

Question

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, at which railway stations live facial recognition technology has been deployed in each of the last five years; on what dates it was deployed at each station; for what purpose; and how many individuals were (a) matched to watchlists, (b) stopped by police and (c) arrested following its use.

Answer

The British Transport Police (BTP) commenced a six-month pilot of Live Facial Recognition (LFR) at certain railway stations in February 2026. The purpose of every deployment is to identify and apprehend individuals wanted for serious crimes.

BTP have reported that to date (a) no offenders have been matched to watchlists, (b) one individual has been stopped by police but this was a false alert which was resolved quickly and (c) no individuals have been arrested specifically following use of facial recognition technology.

BTP have reported 13 arrests linked to the deployment of LFR so far during the pilot, and the locations see a reduced level of crime whilst LFR is in use.

The following railway stations have had LFR deployed:

Deployment Location

Date (2026)

London Bridge

11-Feb

Waterloo Rail

13-Feb

Euston Rail

17-Feb

Kings Cross

24-Feb

Kings Cross

04-Mar

Euston

13-Mar

St Pancras

19-Mar

Liverpool Street

26-Mar

Kings Cross

02-Apr

Victoria

09-Apr

Victoria

20-May

Waterloo

22-May

Liverpool Street

28-May

Euston

11-Jun

Victoria

27-Jun

Victoria

2-Jul

King’s Cross

11-Jul

Secondary information

Type
Written question
Reference
18207
Session
2026-27
Subjects
Biometrics Arrests Railway stations
Contains statistics
Yes
Link
View this Written question on www.parliament.uk