Critics say Fraser Samson hiring is ‘outrageous conflict of interest’ as monitoring technology is rolled out in UK high streets

The recently-departed watchdog in charge of monitoring facial recognition technology has joined the private firm he controversially approved, paving the way for the mass roll-out of biometric surveillance cameras in high streets across the country.

In a move critics have dubbed an “outrageous conflict of interest”, Professor Fraser Sampson, former biometrics and surveillance camera commissioner, has joined Facewatch as a non-executive director.

Sampson left his watchdog role on 31 October, with Companies House records showing he was registered as a company director at Facewatch the following day, 1 November. Campaigners claim this might mean he was negotiating his Facewatch contract while in post, and have urged the advisory committee on business appointments to investigate if it may have “compromised his work in public office”. It is understood that the committee is currently considering the issue.

  • crapwittyname@lemm.eeEnglish
    25·
    1 year ago

    Now-corrupt UK Government Continues to be Corrupt.

    The UK government continues to be a corrupt version of itself, maintaining the veneer of honest public service only through blatant, continuous and disheartening lies. The British public are no longer surprised by these revelations, having become desensitised to this sort of thing over the past decade. The only surprising revelations would now be cases where an elected official were to resign if caught with their hands in the biscuit tin, rather than claiming that:

    • it wasn’t me
    • the biscuits are for me to take
    • there is no biscuit tin
    • my stealing biscuits is in the public interest
    • it’s your fault I had to take biscuits

    Or some such bollocks, all while continuing to stuff their faces with Hobnobs in front of our eyes.

    Politicians have always been awful, but the lot we’ve got now are worse than any in living memory.