Police protest over terror law ban on holiday snaps

Tourists could face prosecution for taking holiday snaps of London's sights, police said today.

The Metropolitan Police Federation has joined a protest against an anti-terror law making it a potential offence to photograph police guarding London's landmarks.

More than 150 people protested outside New Scotland Yard today at the law which makes it an offence to publish or communicate information on members of the armed forces, intelligence services and police officers which is "likely to be useful to a person committing or preparing an act of terrorism".

Peter Smyth, chairman of the federation, said: "This is open to wide interpretation or, rather, misinterpretation.

"How, for example, will it be expected to apply in practice to the 2012 Olympics, which will be both a photo-event par excellence and subject to an intense security operation?

"Are going to be rounded up and arrested en masse for taking suspicious photos?"