Labour candidate’s challenge to Conservative CCTV policy

LABOUR candidate, Richard McKenzie, has written to John Howell, the Conservative candidate for the Henley
by-election, asking him which CCTV cameras in Thame and Henley he would like to see switched off.

Richard McKenzie has written a letter to John Howell asking him whether he supports fellow David Davies’ position on CCTV.
Richard McKenzie said: “CCTV cameras and DNA evidence cut crime and help keep us safe. I challenge my Tory opponent to identify which CCTV cameras in South Oxfordshire he wants to remove and which crimes
should be solved without DNA evidence.”
He added: “David Davis and the Conservatives have lost the plot on law, order and security. They and the Lib Dems voted against giving the police powers to
detain terrorist suspects for longer, and now they want to cut back on CCTV cameras and the use of DNA evidence which has proved so important in
securing convictions against criminals and those who would do us harm.”

David Davis, who was until his recent resignation over the 42 days custody of terrorist suspects, the shadow home secretary, is on record as saying that Britain is one of the heaviest users of CCTV in the world and that the widespread use of closed circuit television (CCTV) risks infringing civil liberties.
He proposed new rules on the use of CCTV and penalties for people and bodies that use the cameras to invade the privacy of the public.