Bobby Talalay appears in significant case about the lawfulness of Facial Recognition use by the Metropolitan Police

Bobby Talalay was instructed by the Defendant in R (Thompson) v Commissioner of Police of the Metropolis.

The Divisional Court heard argument about whether the Metropolitan Police’s policy governing the use of Live Facial Recognition was lawful, and specifically whether it had the quality of law for the purposes of articles 8, 10 and 11 ECHR. Following the hearing on 27-28 January 2026, judgment was reserved.

Facial Recognition has been described as being “one of the biggest crime detection breakthroughs since the discovery of DNA”; and the importance of this case is reflected in the fact that it has received widespread media attention, both national and international.

Bobby, along with Raphael Hogarth, was led by Anya Proops KC (both of 11KBW).

Bobby has extensive experience of acting on behalf of police forces and other organisations in complex human rights matters, false imprisonment claims, civil data protection and privacy litigation, other areas such as claims for assault, stress at work, malicious prosecution, human rights, and other civil actions and judicial reviews.