'Shameful' councillor 'tells murderers, rapists and burglars how to avoid police'... by posting map showing location of Live Facial Recognition vans

By FRANCINE WOLFISZ, NEWS REPORTER Published: 00:55, 29 July 2026 | Updated: 00:55, 29 July 2026 A 'shameful' Green Party councillor has been accused of telling 'murderers, rapists and burglars' how to avoid a Met Police van using facial recognition technology. Hau-Yu Tam, cabinet member for sanctuary and healing at Lewisham Council, shared a map on her social media accounts showing the precise location of the police van on Tuesday.  Metropolitan Police has begun using cutting edge 'Live Facial Recognition' technology (LFR) to round up hundreds of criminals across the capital. LFR utilises mobile van-based CCTV cameras and artificial intelligence to compare the faces of passers-by with a watchlist of people wanted for committing crimes,  failing to turn up to court hearings, or for breaching orders to deter stalking, sexual offences and violence against women and girls. According to the post, the surveillance van was deployed in Deptford on Tuesday. A red pin and arrow on the map showed exactly where the vehicle was stationed. 'Avoid the area if you can and warn others - if you can see the van, the cameras can see you,' the post warned.  The post shared by Ms Tam was originally created by Lewisham Anti-Raids, which describes itself as 'community resistance to racist immigration raids in Lewisham.' Defending her reasons for sharing the post, the councillor said there were 'many reasons' why some people might not want their faces scanned by such technology and that policing 'operates by consent'. Hau-Yu Tam, cabinet member for sanctuary and healing at Lewisham Council, shared a map on her social media accounts showing the precise location of a Met Police van using facial recognition technology The post shared by Ms Tam was criticised for helping wanted criminals evade the police Ms Tam was described as 'brilliant' by Green leader Zack Polanski when she defected from Labour last year However, her actions prompted criticism from politicians and counter terrorism experts.     Shadow Home Secretary Chris Philp accused her of helping 'protect' criminals. He said: 'The Greens may not like live facial recognition, but we can recognise them for what they are.  'Lewisham deserves a council more interested in catching criminals than protecting them. 'Live facial recognition has the potential to transform policing, as DNA did previously, providing the ability to catch criminals in vast crowds who often would have gotten away.' Meanwhile Martin Gallagher, a former police superintendent and counter terror expert, called her decision to share the location 'shameful'. He said: 'Elected officials have a duty to uphold law and order while supporting the arrangements that govern the United Kingdom.  'Facial recognition cameras in the UK are primed to detect serious criminals, not visa overstayers and illegal immigrants. 'This councillor has overtly provided assistance to those who have committed, or are believed to have committed serious crime, to evade lawful arrest.  'She has effectively told murderers, rapists and burglars how to avoid the police. This is shameful behaviour.' LFR was first trialled by police in the UK in 2015 before being used formally by South Wales Police at the Uefa Champions League final in Cardiff in 2017, primarily to spot wanted football hooligans. Since then, it has been rolled out by more than a dozen forces in what is being seen as a policing revolution.  Met Police supervisor Sergeant Kevin Brown, who is keen on the technology, said: 'When we first began using the technology in 2024, it enabled us to arrest 574 wanted people. 'Last year, that number was 1,135, and already this year it is around 900. LFR is a very useful tool to help us keep the public safe.' Other forces using LFR include Greater Manchester, Cambridgeshire, Hampshire, Norfolk, South Wales and Thames Valley. Earlier this year, Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood, a firm proponent of the technology, unveiled plans to increase the number of LFR mobile vans across the country to 50. But while law enforcement promotes LFR as an efficient way of finding people they describe as 'sought after', civil liberties campaigners fear it could erode privacy rights. 'Privacy is an important and hard-won right,' says Charlie Whelton, policy and campaigns officer at human rights campaigners Liberty.  'Walking past a facial recognition camera is like showing your ID at a checkpoint – something most of us wouldn't want to do just to go to the shops, watch our football team, or attend a concert.' The Met however said there have been vastly more arrests thanks to the technology. Since the start of 2024, there have been more than 2,100 arrests, with 24 per cent of those being related in some way to violence against women and girls.  This resulted in more than 1,400 being either charged or cautioned. Of these, more than 100 were sex offenders. The furore is not the first time Ms Tam - described as 'brilliant' by Green leader Zack Polanski when she defected from Labour last year - has run into controversy. Ms Tam previously lambasted former Justice Secretary David Lammy after he reportedly told ministers he has a family member who is on benefits when they probably should not be. Writing on X last year, Ms Tam said: 'It's reminiscent of Priti Patel admitting her family wouldn't get in under her own immigration rules, but somehow even more callous. These coconuts.' The post was later deleted. Coconut is a highly offensive racial slur, meaning that someone is black or brown on the outside and white on the inside. Dame Priti Patel MP, now Shadow Foreign Secretary, said: 'Being called a coconut by a Green candidate doesn't surprise me. The Left preaches tolerance until a woman of colour refuses to agree with them and their intolerant views – the mask has slipped and the public can see the sheer nastiness of the Greens.' Ms Tam also retweeted a post that said: 'Zionism is pure evil and must be abolished.'  A few days later she shared a post saying Zionism was 'undoubtedly, unquestionably the Nazism of our time.' She also hailed barrister Franck Magennis, who worked on an unsuccessful application to remove Hamas from the Home Office's list of proscribed organisations, writing that she was 'extremely proud' of Mr Magennis 'for being among those blazing the way on this intervention'. Speaking about her latest social media post, Ms Tam told The Telegraph: 'I shared posts letting people know that Live Facial Recognition cameras were in operation, as the police tend to give people very little or no notice before it's deployed. 'Policing in this country operates by consent. There are many reasons why people may not want their faces scanned without their permission – and with very little legislation governing its use and documented concerns about the technology's racial bias – especially in areas as diverse as Lewisham.  'My priority is making sure people of all backgrounds are safe in our community.'