Met Police to deploy facial recognition at Tommy Robinson rally - but not at neighbouring pro-Palestine protest

The Metropolitan Police is set to use facial recognition at an upcoming rally organised by Tommy Robinson - but not at a neighbouring pro-Palestine protest.

A set of policing measures were confirmed ahead of the Unite the Kingdom march which is projected to involve up to 50,000 in London this weekend.

Scotland Yard announced it would roll out the "highest degree of control" and the "most assertive use of our policing powers" with authorities sending 4,000 officers to police a number of busy events across the capital.

Armoured vehicles will be on standby for the first time while every officer will be decked out with full riot gear ahead of Saturday.

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The Metropolitan Police announced the specific regulations for the Robinson rally after assessing "intelligence which indicates there is likely to be a threat to public safety from some who might be in attendance".

Live Facial Recognition (LFR) uses biometric data derived from a person's face to compare against a database of listed wanted suspects. Any identified matches are then pinged over to police.

On the same day, another 30,000 individuals are expected to descend on London for a pro-Palestinian protest to mark Nakba Day.

Nakba Day is a day of commemoration for the "Palestinian Catastrophe" when the homeland and society were destroyed in 1948.

However, it was revealed that facial recognition would not be imposed on attendees of the rally there.

Metropolitan Police deputy assistant commissioner James Harman said: "(LFR) will be deployed in the London borough of Camden in an area likely to be used by those attending the Unite the Kingdom event."

The tech, however, will not be deployed across protest routes, rally points or within the assembly, he confirmed.

He added: "We have been clear that we would not accept march routes or rally locations that increase the risk of intimidation to any particular community.

"This has been achieved on paper, but it now falls to us to deploy very significant resources... to keep groups with opposing views apart and keep everybody safe."

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In response, Reform UK leader Nigel Farage said: "The Unite the Kingdom rally on Saturday should be treated no differently to the pro-Palestinian march on the same day.

"The fact that two-tier justice is being applied against patriotic Britons is disgraceful."

Shadow Home Secretary Chris Philp told The Times: "LFR is a powerful tool for catching wanted criminals. It should only be used for this purpose and in all relevant settings.

"In previous years, Nakba Day protests have included expressions of support for banned terrorist organisations such as Hamas, which is a criminal offence.

"This must be stopped and dealt with to avoid accusations of two-tier policing."

Nevertheless, both marches are expected to be heavily policed over the weekend, with the operations costing an eye-watering £4.5million to fund an extensive effort.

The commissioner added: "The scale of the operation is unprecedented in recent years. Our plan involves the most assertive use of our policing powers including strict conditions under the Public Order Act."

Police dog units and teams of detectives, as well as mounted branch, traffic and helicopter officers will be deployed.

At the events, organisers and speakers have also been instructed to "stay within the law in terms of hate speech" in yet another remarkable clampdown over the weekend.

Mr Harman further warned that organisers will "face consequences if unlawful extremism or hate speech" is platformed by either group.

"If something is hateful and intimidating we will take action whatever the academic or historical interpretation of those words," Mr Harman said.

"We have been clear since the outset, we would not accept routes or rally locations that would increase the risk of intimidation to any particular community, or that would risk the two protests coming together."

Some £1.7million of the sum has been assigned to parachute in 660 officers from forces across England and Wales.

So far, the Home Office has banned at least seven individuals from travelling to the UK to participate in the Robinson rally on Saturday.

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