Birmingham police face investigation into claims they misled councillors over initiative targeted at two Muslim suburbs
Police face an investigation into claims that they deliberately misled councillors in Birmingham about a surveillance initiative targeted at two Muslim suburbs. The scheme was halted this week, less than a fortnight after the Guardian revealed the cameras were part of £3m counterterrorism initiative. The Independent Police Complaints Commission tonight confirmed it had received two complaints from Birmingham councillors.
West Midlands police and Birmingham city council apologised for "mistakes" around the project, which they had sold as an initiative to combat anti-social behaviour and vehicle crime. Bags will be placed over the cameras to reassure the community that they are switched off while a retrospective public consultation takes place.
The initiative, Project Champion, would have monitored the largely Muslim neighbourhoods of Washwood Heath and Sparkbrook with a network of 169 automatic number plate recognition cameras. The cameras, which include dozens of covert ones secretly installed in the street, form "rings of steel", so that residents can be tracked entering or leaving the area.
