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No general UK government ban on photography in public spaces is supported by the current guidance. The Home Office says members of the public and media do not need a permit to photograph or film in public places, and that photographing a public building is not an offence in itself. Police cannot ordinarily stop people from filming incidents or police personnel, although defined legal powers and restrictions tied to conduct or particular sites can apply.
What the current UK guidance says
The Home Office’s revised stop-and-search code states that “members of the public and media do not need a permit to film or photograph in public places.” It also says that photographing or filming a public building is not, by itself, an offence, and that police have no power to stop people photographing or filming incidents or police personnel in the ordinary circumstances addressed by the code.
The Metropolitan Police’s advice gives a similar account: the public and media may photograph or film in public places without a permit, and officers cannot ordinarily stop them filming incidents or police personnel. This is not an unconditional right to photograph anywhere or in every circumstance; the location, conduct, and any specific legal power matter.
When a restriction or police power may apply
A counter-terrorism stop-and-search power
The Home Office code describes limited counter-terrorism stop-and-search powers. It says a section 47A authorisation does not itself prohibit photography. The Metropolitan Police notes that the former section 44 Terrorism Act 2000 power no longer exists; it describes section 43 as allowing a search when an officer reasonably suspects the person is a terrorist. These are defined powers, not a general prohibition on photographing in public.
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Harassment, privacy, and intimate images
A government answer to Parliament in June 2023 said there were no provisions prohibiting photography or filming in public places, including images of police officers and buildings, unless the conduct represented a genuine security risk or risk of staff personal information being misused. It also noted that possible Public Order Act and Protection from Harassment Act offences depend on the circumstances. That answer is dated; the current police code is the stronger guide to the general rule.
Taking a photograph and what someone does to obtain or use an image are separate questions. A March 2026 parliamentary answer on covert filming discussed offences involving taking or installing equipment to capture intimate images without consent or a reasonable belief in consent, including some images taken up clothing in public. That is a privacy and sexual-image issue, not a ban on ordinary street photography. The answer referred to the Crime and Policing Bill at the time; it does not establish that any bill provision has since become law.
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Prohibited places and controlled access
A 2024 Home Office answer about the National Security Act 2023 addressed journalists working on or near prohibited places. It said a journalist photographing from outside such a place would not commit an offence where they lacked a purpose prejudicial to UK safety or interests and there was nothing indicating photography was not permitted, such as signage or another distinguishing marker. This narrow context does not create a general rule against public photography.
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Also distinguish a place that is publicly accessible from a public place in the legal sense. A privately owned site may allow public access subject to its own entry conditions, and a restricted or prohibited site may have specific rules. The general public-place guidance does not override those conditions.
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Does Martyn’s Law ban photography?
No general photography ban appears in the Home Office’s August 2026 statutory guidance on the Terrorism (Protection of Premises) Act 2025, commonly called Martyn’s Law. The Act concerns preparedness and protective security at certain premises and events across England, Wales, Scotland, and Northern Ireland. The guidance said substantive requirements were still to be commenced and describes procedures and, for enhanced-tier premises and qualifying events, additional reasonably practicable protective measures. It is not a general restriction on taking photographs in public.
Is the Home Office leaflet evidence of a new ban?
A parliamentary question dated 14 September 2026 asked whether the Home Office planned to withdraw a leaflet titled “Do not photograph or film people in public.” The indexed parliamentary record showed that a response was awaited. That question alone does not establish a policy change or a new ban; the leaflet’s current status and full wording are unresolved.
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Public photography is not the same as government surveillance
The Home Office’s August 2026 guide for local authorities concerns surveillance camera systems used to monitor public spaces and the duties that apply to public bodies under the Protection of Freedoms Act 2012 and the surveillance camera code. It is about government and local-authority use of cameras, not members of the public taking photographs.
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