Liberties complaint closes CCTV network

The 72 cameras are part of a 218-strong CCTV and automatic number plate recognition (ANPR) surveillance network installed in Birmingham, mainly in areas with a large Muslim community.

The scheme was largely financed under a counter-terrorism initiative and has attracted criticism from human rights lawyers and some residents.

Following a public meeting about it in the city yesterday, it was agreed that the hidden cameras would be removed, said the civil liberties organisation Liberty.

The rest will remain inactive and a public consultation on the project will be held.

But Liberty, which sent a letter on Friday on behalf of a number of local residents threatening judicial review action if the cameras were not removed, said yesterday's development did not go far enough.

Legal officer Corinna Ferguson said: "We are glad that the authorities are beginning to see sense in Birmingham but retrospective consultation about a discriminatory scheme doesn't go anywhere near far enough.

"The fight against terrorism is not won by turning citizens into suspects and stigmatising the very communities that must pull together and who can most help the police.

"We now look to the new Government to learn from the mistakes of the past, to introduce legal safeguards for the use of CCTV and to re-examine the balance between public trust and engagement and intrusive surveillance."

The Safer Birmingham Partnership last month agreed to delay the switch-on of the cameras, which are predominantly installed in Sparkbrook and Washwood Heath.

The anti-crime partnership acknowledged it should have been more explicit about the role of the city's Counter Terrorism Unit in setting up the network and pledged to place bags over the cameras. It promised a full public consultation.

Birmingham City Council said yesterday it would do all it could to gauge the community's views on the scheme, which is named Project Champion.

Deputy Leader Councillor Paul Tilsley said: ""We will begin a full consultation with all sections of the local community and once we get a clearer idea of what the public wants, we will act accordingly."