Police criticised over face recognition cameras at Beyonce's Cardiff concert

Police have been criticised over plans to use live face recognition cameras on fans at Beyonce's concert in Cardiff.

South Wales Police had revealed plans to use the software to identify people wanted for "priority offences" after the cameras were used by law enforcement earlier this month at the coronation of King Charles.

The facial recognition technology was set to be used at the Beyonce concert "to support policing in the identification of persons wanted for priority offences".

The decision was also made to "support law enforcement" and "ensure the safeguarding of children and vulnerable persons".

A spokesperson for South Wales Police told the BBC: "Facial Recognition is not a condition of entry and it will not be on the stadium footprint."

The camera uses artificial intelligence to compare faces with a "watch list", which could be made up of people wanted for crimes.

South Wales Police had said if someone wasn't on a watch list, the biometric data would be immediately deleted rather than being stored.

The CCTV footage is kept for up to 31 days.

Human rights campaigners have criticised the move, including Surveillance Camera watchdog Fraser Sampson, who argued more work has to be done to ensure there is no bias, while he warned a planned new law could weaken the rules governing the process.

Recently, European law-makers backed plans to effectively ban live face recognition cameras being used in public spaces.

© BANG Media International