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A man whose picture was taken while he was out Christmas shopping in Cardiff is the first person in the UK to bring a court challenge over the police's use of facial recognition.

Ed Bridges has crowdfunded action against South Wales Police over claims that the use of the technology on him was an unlawful violation of privacy.

The cast begins at the Cardiff Civil Justice and Family Centre on Tuesday where Mr Bridges will also argue it breaches data protection and equality laws during a three-day hearing.

South Wales Police was one of the first forces in the UK to roll-out automated facial recognition software (AFR) when it first used it at the Champions League final in Cardiff in May, 2017.

It has been used at major events including the Elvis Festival in Porthcawl, Anthony Joshua's fight with Carlos Takam in Cardiff and when Prince Harry and Megan Markle visited the Welsh capital.

The technology maps faces in a crowd then compares results with a "watch list" of images which can include suspects, missing people and persons of interest.

Police who have trialled the technology hope it can help tackle crime but campaigners argue it breaches privacy and civil liberty.

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Mr Bridges, a former Lib Dem councillor in Cardiff, said he has been scanned by AFR at least twice, including while protesting outside the Cardiff Arms Fair in March 2018 and while doing Christmas shopping, according to the campaign group Liberty, which represents him.

Liberty claims South Wales Police have used facial recognition technology "on around 50 occasions".

(Image: Liberty)

Mr Bridges has said in the past: "The police are supposed to protect us, and their presence should make us feel safe – but I know first-hand how intimidating their use of facial recognition technology is.

"Indiscriminately scanning everyone going about their daily business makes our privacy rights meaningless. The inevitable conclusion is that people will change their behaviour or feel scared to protest or express themselves freely – in short, we’ll be less free."

The force said it would not comment until the judicial review is finished.

The Metropolitan Police have also trialled the technology several times in London.

Information about AFR on a website set up by South Wales Police says it will help the force "become smarter" and make its patch safer.

The force has said it works to "ensure that the deployment of this technology is proportionate whilst recognising the need to balance security and privacy".

Liberty said freedom of information requests have shown that South Wales Police's use of live AFR technology "resulted in 'true matches' with less than 9% accuracy" in the first year.