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Facewatch appoints Dean Armstrong KC as Data Chief

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SOFIAH NICHOLE SALIVIO

News Editor

Facewatch has appointed Dean Armstrong KC as its Data Protection Officer, a statutory role under UK GDPR.

The appointment puts one of the UK’s best-known barristers in data protection, cyber law and artificial intelligence in charge of oversight at a company that supplies live facial recognition systems to retailers.

Facewatch said Armstrong’s arrival reflects the level of scrutiny it believes is needed for the use of live facial recognition in shops, where the technology identifies people previously linked to criminal behaviour as they enter participating stores.

Operating as a Data Controller under UK GDPR, Facewatch sends real-time alerts to store teams when a flagged individual enters a protected site.

Retail use

Facewatch said its technology is used by more than 125 retailers across thousands of UK stores. Users include national chains and independent retailers such as Budgens, Frasers Group, Flannels, Home Bargains, Sainsbury’s and Sports Direct, as well as garden centres and charity shops.

The business said the system generated more than 500,000 real-time alerts for known offenders in 2025. It also said the technology has helped reduce repeat offending by up to 70% in stores.

The appointment comes as live facial recognition becomes more established in British retail. The market has expanded alongside wider use by police forces and growing debate over the legal and ethical boundaries of deployment in both public and private settings.

Nick Fisher, Chief Executive of Facewatch, linked the hire to that wider debate and the company’s governance standards.

“Dean is one of the most respected legal minds in the country on data protection, AI and the law that governs them. His arrival as our Data Protection Officer is a statement of intent.”

“The United Kingdom is ahead of almost every comparable market in the world in the responsible commercial use of live facial recognition, and the retail sector here is leading that adoption.”

“With that leadership comes a responsibility to set the highest standards of governance, transparency and accountability, not just meet them.”

“Dean’s experience, including his work advising in this exact field, means we have appointed someone who understands the technology, the legal framework and the wider public interest considerations.”

Fisher said the move was timely for the company and its customers.

“This is the right appointment at the right time for Facewatch, for our retail subscribers, and for the workers and shoppers our system is designed to protect.”

Armstrong has had a long association with the company, according to both men. His comments focused on the legal standards that should govern the use of facial recognition as adoption widens.

“Live facial recognition raises important questions around governance, accountability and proportionality, particularly as adoption grows across both the public and private sectors. What matters is not simply whether organisations use these technologies, but whether they do so lawfully, transparently and with appropriate safeguards in place.”

“During my long association with Facewatch, I have always been struck by the care and precision it has shown over compliance with the law, both in letter and in spirit.”

In a separate comment, he said the company had taken its obligations seriously.

“Facewatch continues to demonstrate a serious commitment to those responsibilities, and I look forward to supporting the company as the legal and regulatory landscape in this area continues to evolve.”

The appointment comes against a backdrop of rising violence and abuse against retail staff. Facewatch cited British Retail Consortium figures showing 1,600 incidents of abuse and violence against shop workers as retailers look for ways to deter repeat offenders and improve staff safety.



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Mouse droppings found in Oxford city Chinese restaurant

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Ten Seconds Yunnan Rice Noodle in New Inn Hall Street was inspected by Oxford City Council on May 26.

Inspectors subsequently handed the Chinese restaurant a rating of two out of five, meaning “improvement necessary”.

According to the report, received by the Oxford Mail after a Freedom of Information request submission, officers identified a series of concerns, including evidence of mouse activity.

The report states that mouse droppings were found throughout the business in two food storage rooms and the bar area.

In one of the storage areas, mouse activity was present where noodles were kept in plastic carrier bags and potatoes and onion were left in the open.

“Historic” mouse droppings at Ten Seconds Yunnan Rice Noodle (Image: Oxford City Council)

Inspectors said pest-proofing measures were “not great” and identified a hole beneath a sink in the bar area which could potentially allow pests to enter the premises.

In the report, the inspector said: “At the time of the inspection, I observed a number of historic mouse dropping in both the food storage areas.

“The most recent pest control report mentions no mouse activity in any of the food storage areas.

“All areas where food is prepared and stored must be kept clean and capable of being kept clean. This is so that pests are not attracted into your premises and the risk of food being contaminated by dirt is minimised.”

They advised the owner to remove all historic mouse droppings within the food business and continue to identify any issues of pest proofing within a month.

A hole where pests could have entered underneath the sink (Image: Oxford City Council)

The business was instructed to remove the droppings and improve pest-proofing measures where previous temporary work had failed.

Food storage issues were also highlighted during the inspection.

In an “overfilled” fridge, officers found raw chicken stored above ready-to-eat foods, including uncovered beans and spring onions, which could cause cross-contamination leading to food poisoning.

That same fridge, which stored items such as cooked rice, chicken ballotine and prawns, was above the required eight degrees, raising concern about food poisoning.

A large number of food containers were also unlabelled, despite the food looking fresh.

The officer insisted a “robust system for ensuring adequate stock rotation” was implemented and recommended all food be kept in sealed, pest-proof containers.

An overfilled fridge which was measured above safe temperature (Image: Oxford City Council)

No food-safe sanitiser or disinfectant were available on site, only a kitchen cleaner which they said did not provide adequate disinfection.

Despite the concerns, the report noted there had been a “huge improvement” in cleaning standards since the restaurant’s previous inspection.

The business also had a food safety management system in place and a pest control contract with Pure Pest Solutions.

The council has required a range of improvements, with compliance timescales ranging from one week to one month with a revisit inspection planned.





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Oxford startup secures Innovate UK Women in Innovation Award

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Oxford-based Peripear has secured an Innovate UK Women in Innovation Award and a £74,974 grant for its development of a wearable device designed to prevent perineal trauma during labour.

The funding will support continued product development ahead of the company’s planned first-in-human study.

Nina van Schaick, co-founder and COO of Peripear as well as a midwife who trained at Oxford Brookes, said: “I’m sure I wasn’t the only one to see this gap.

“I was incredibly lucky to meet my co-founder, Eviatar Natan, right as my frustration about the lack of translation of evidence into practice had peaked.

“There was a proven mechanism that could reduce injuries occurring in up to 90 per cent of vaginal births, and it was being left out of clinical pathways simply because no standardised tool existed to deliver it.”

Peripear is developing what it describes as the world’s first automated perineal thermotherapy wearable, designed to prevent perineal trauma during childbirth.

A perineal thermotherapy wearable is an emerging medical device.

It is a hands‑free warm compress device used on the perineum during the second stage of labour to reduce severe tearing and episiotomies while improving maternal comfort.

Ms van Schaick added: “I’m a farmer’s granddaughter, and when I started practising over 14 years ago, I asked: where is the tool I need to implement this evidence? I looked around and realised we were still asking clinicians to improvise.

“Peripear is what happens when the person who has lived the problem, both personally and professionally, meets the person who can help her build the solution.”





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UK bike manufacturer on brink of £30m collapse after 139 years

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The company behind bikemaker Raleigh, which was founded 139 years ago and has supplied bikes to the UK’s cycling city of Oxford over the years, has filed to appoint administrators.

Accell UK and Ireland, part of Netherlands-based Accell Group, filed a notice of intention to appoint administrators as the wider group kickstarted insolvency proceedings.

This follows a difficult spell for Nottinghamshire-based Raleigh, which confirmed job cuts in 2024 before reporting a £30m loss in financial accounts published the following year.

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The boss of Accell said it was a “deeply sad and frustrating situation” and that it had “tirelessly explored” every option for the future of the cycling business.

The company bought Raleigh in 2012 for around 100 million US dollars (£74 million), adding to its roster of bike brands throughout Europe including Haibike, Winora and Ghost.

Raleigh was founded in Nottingham in 1887 and was well-known for its Chopper model, which featured extended handlebars and is now part of its “retro” range.

It no longer manufactures bikes from Nottingham, and its head office has moved to Eastwood, Nottinghamshire, while the company has shifted to selling electric bikes under Accell’s ownership.

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Accell went through a restructuring in February, securing additional funding from shareholders and lenders and reducing debts.

The group said it had since “explored every possible avenue” for its future, including discussions with potential buyers, but that it had not been possible to find a solution which means the business can continue operating.

It has therefore initiated insolvency proceedings in the Netherlands.

Accell’s chief executive Jonas Nilsson said: “This is a deeply sad and frustrating situation given all the hard work and everything we have achieved, with the support of shareholders and lenders, to restructure Accell’s operations and finances.

“It is an especially difficult moment for our employees, creditors, customers, suppliers, and partners.

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“Every realistic option for the future of the business has been tirelessly explored, and none have resulted in a solution to continue the Group in its current form.

“Our immediate focus is to support an orderly process, provide clarity wherever possible, and work with the relevant court-appointed administrators to preserve viable activities and employment where circumstances allow.”

At its 1970s height, Raleigh employed more than 13,000 people across the UK, with around 8,000 working at its various Triumph Road sites in Nottingham.

The former factory land later became the University of Nottingham’s Jubilee Campus.

Raleigh subsequently moved its headquarters to Church Street in Eastwood, before leaving that site and relocating to Durban House in 2024.





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