A six-month trial of live facial recognition technology at London's busiest railway stations has ended with minimal results, producing only one false positive identification despite scanning over half a million faces and costing taxpayers £320,786. The British Transport Police trial, which ran from February to July 2026 across 18 deployments, resulted in no arrests and consumed nearly 100 hours of police officers' time, raising serious questions about the cost-effectiveness and proportionality of the surveillance technology.

The trial involved scanning faces at major transport hubs against police watchlists of suspects and people breaching court orders, with authorities claiming the technology would target violence against women and girls. However, freedom of information data reveals the sole alert generated was an incorrect match, prompting criticism from privacy advocates and experts who argue the technology should not be expanded without stronger legal safeguards. The British Transport Police has nonetheless announced plans to extend the trial by four months and expand deployments to include London Underground stations, whilst the Metropolitan Police prepares to install fixed facial recognition cameras in London's West End and Oxford Street.