G4S monitored asylum seekers without consent

(ShareCast News) - Security company G4S could face legal action from campaigners after revelations that it has breached privacy and data protection laws by filming asylum seekers in their own homes without consent, the Guardian reports.Over 640 of the company's housing and welfare officers working on a government contract to house 30,000 asylum seekers were issued with body-worn cameras in order to tackle violence and threats against staff last month.The security giant confirmed that the cameras were on a "constant recording mode" including times when officers were dealing with asylum seekers and their children in their own homes.G4S claims the initiative has the support of the Home Office but the action has alarmed both the information and surveillance commissioners.A Birmingham-based advocacy group Asirt is considering taking legal action against the company on the grounds that the use of cameras violates the right to private life in the home under article 8 of the European convention on human rights.Dave Stamp, the group's project manager and an immigration lawyer, said: "While it may be lawful to film or record people in public without their consent, these people are not in a public place: they are in their own homes, where they have a reasonable expectation of privacy."Stamp also claims that using cameras potentially breached data protection laws as asylum seekers have no practical means of reviewing the footage if requested.The Information Commissioner's Office said that the Data protection Act gives people rights around how their personal data is used including images obtained from a body-worn video."Continuous recording will require strong justification, as it is likely to be excessive and cause a great deal of intrusion," said a spokesperson.Despite this the company insisted that a privacy impact assessment was conducted before the cameras were issued. It also said that asylum seekers will be able to review the footage if requested, but has given contradictory statements on how long the footage will be retained.The company felt the move was necessary after recording 73 incidents of assault or threatening behaviour against its officers last year.John Whitwam, the head of G4S immigration and borders, said: "Our considered view after looking at the evidence is that these devices will help to reduce the incidents of intimidation and violence experienced by our staff who typically work alone, as well as afford protection to service users by providing an impartial source of evidence when we investigate complaints against our team."Body-worn cameras have been shown by numerous agencies to afford protection and accountability, which is of importance not only to our staff but also to those vulnerable people to whom we provide a critical service."G4S' share price fell 0.5% to 249.44p at the close on Tuesday.