Tiff over anti-terror road cameras

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Internal documents mistakenly released by the Home Office revealed that former Transport Secretary Douglas Alexander had resisted the counter-terror measure for fear that it would offer ammunition to opponents of his plans for road-pricing.

As the plans were being drawn up, Mr Alexander was reeling from the impact of a 1.8 million-signature petition on the 10 Downing Street website condemning proposals for a nationwide network of cameras to charge motorists according to when and where they drive.

Home Office minister Tony McNulty used a low-key written statement to the House of Commons on Tuesday to announce plans to allow police in London to view pictures in "real time" from Transport for London's 1,500 cameras around the capital, which use Automatic Number Plate Recognition (ANPR) technology to link cars with owners' details.

Mr McNulty said that the step was being taken because of the "enduring threat" of car bombs. Police officers had previously had to apply for access to the cameras on a case-by-case basis because of concerns that routine use of the information would be an invasion of privacy.

An annotated draft of Mr McNulty's statement, accidentally circulated by email in Westminster on Tuesday, revealed the blow-by-blow development of the scheme over the past few months and the opposition mounted by the Department for Transport.

The electronic document revealed that the controversy level of the plan was rated "high".

One Home Office official wrote: "Civil rights groups and privacy campaigners may condemn this as further evidence of an encroaching 'big brother' approach to policing and security, particularly in the light of the recent e-petition on road-pricing.

"Conversely, there may be surprise that the data collected by the congestion charge cameras is not already used for national security purposes and may lead to criticism that the matter is yet to be resolved."

The document noted that Mr Alexander's Department for Transport had "expressed concern about the potential for adverse publicity relating to... plans for local roads pricing".