Tourists better think twice now before snapping pictures of the iconic British bobby.
A new anti-terrorism law went into effect yesterday that could effectively bar photographers from taking pictures of police or military personnel - a move that prompted some 200 photographers to protest outside of Scotland Yard headquarters.
Although the measure aims to prevent terrorists from taking reconnaissance shots, photographers say it could be misused at a whim to stop any pictures from being taken - especially images involving police abuse and demonstrations.
Freelancer Jess Hurd said she was stopped by police when photographing a wedding of Irish travellers. Part of the story was about how the travellers - who often roam from site to site - face harassment from police.
"The police stopped me and ordered me to stop filming them, saying I could be carrying out hostile reconnaissance," Hurd said.
"I had no idea what they were talking about until I realised we were vaguely in the vicinity of City Airport."
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