|
|
<p>Use of unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) likely to obtain private information covertly would need to be authorised under the Regulation of Investigatory</p><p><?notus-xml column=340?></p><p>Powers Act 2000. Any authorisation would be on the basis that the deployment was both necessary for a human rights purpose such as the prevention or detection of crime or in the interests of national security, and was proportionate. The Home Office does not normally receive notifications of police authorisations. Statistics on the authorisation of covert surveillance are published in the annual report of the independent Chief Surveillance Commissioner, but are not broken down to the extent identified in the question. I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave on 18 July 2013, Official Report, column 912W, to the hon. Member for West Bromwich East (Mr Watson), which stated that police deployment of UAVs was an operational matter for individual police forces within regulations set by the Civil Aviation Authority and that numbers in use are not collected centrally.</p> |