Home Office condemned for forcing migrants on bail to wear GPS tags

Round-the-clock tracking condemned as Trojan horse' giving government vast surveillance powers that violate human rights

More than 40 human rights organisations have condemned the Home Office's introduction of 24-hour GPS monitoring of people on immigration bail in an expansion of surveillance powers that has involved no consultation process or parliamentary debate.

The new policy marks a shift from using radio frequency monitors (which alert authorities if the wearer leaves an assigned area) to round-the-clock GPS trackers (which track a person's every move), while also giving the Home Office new powers to collect, store and access this data indefinitely via a private contractor.