Some North East councils have now specialist surveillance teams. Drone squads now spy on local people, even on their own properties and in their own gardens!
The ‘Sunday Telegraph’ on November 30th 2025, ran an article titled “Councils using drones to spy on residents”. Although the article was taking a view across different parts of the UK, there appeared to be an unexpected concentration of such local authorities in the North East. In Kier Starmer’s developing socialist authoritarian state, surveillance of local residents appears to be another step towards population control.
The ‘Sunday Telegraph’ report quoted statements by the organisation Big Brother Watch, that there is increasing concern at the levels of surveillance now operating in the United Kingdom. “Britain is already one of the most surveilled countries on Earth, with CCTV cameras on street corners. We do not need flying cameras too.”
Of course the Labour-controlled local councils identified in the ‘Sunday Telegraph’ claim that the use of drones as a means of surveillance is being done in the ‘public interest’, to monitor and counter anti-social behaviour, serious levels of fly-tipping, vandalism and other illegal activities.
However, actual cases resulting from drone surveillance have been highlighted, such as breaches of planning regulations or fly-tipping, and the results suggest social control rather than curbing illegal activities. It was also a feature of the Covid lock-down period that certain police force areas used drones to spy on dog-walkers and even hikers in the Peak District.
Several national mainstream media sources have started to report on this situation, mostly those media outlets that are critical of the Labour government and Labour run councils. The newspapers and online reports by ‘The Sun’ and the ‘Daily Mail’ have joined the ‘Sunday Telegraph’ in this reporting, as has GB News. Below are extracts of media reports highlighting the North-East local authorities identified so far;
Sunderland
“Sunderland stands out with the largest known council drone fleet in Britain. It operates thirteen aircraft with eight pilots and more staff currently in training. The city uses drones to investigate environmental crimes, support enforcement teams, observe public gatherings and document disorder.
“Sunderland’s advanced program has raised concerns that trained pilots could be recruited by other councils eager to expand their own drone operations.”
Stockton on Tees Borough Council
“Other councils are following similar paths. Stockton on Tees has eight drones and five trained pilots who support infrastructure checks and antisocial behaviour monitoring.” Stockton is quoted as seeking to expand its drone units and to train up more personnel.
Newcastle City Council
“Newcastle’s two aircraft are currently used mainly for surveys, although the council plans to expand into monitoring antisocial behaviour.”
Currently, Newcastle City Council has just three trained and licensed drone pilots, but has another five personnel under training and does intend to extend surveillance into anti-social behaviour and crime. The list reproduced by the ‘Daily Mail’ also highlights Northumberland County Council, and South Tyneside Council, but offers no details of numbers involved or activities being taken by those council units. Nevertheless, it is disturbing to see so many North East local authorities on a list of 21 councils from across England, Wales and Scotland.
Outside the North East, it is noticeable that Bradford City Council is so far the only council in the Yorkshire region to be using CAA approved drone operating personnel. However, West Yorkshire Police recently issued a statement via Leeds United Football Club that CCTV linked with facial recognition software would be employed in Leeds city centre and in the area around the Leeds United stadium to monitor crowds during specific high-profile matches. For public safety of course.
This list of councils in England, Scotland and Wales is based on licensing by the Civil Aviation Authority and was reproduced by the ‘Daily Mail’ and is reproduced below.
“This rapid growth of council drone fleets shows how fast public sector drone adoption is accelerating. The technology has real benefits for inspections, coastal work and environmental monitoring. But once drones are used to watch gatherings or enforce behaviour, the line between useful tool and intrusive eye becomes thin. Especially if there’s live AI facial recognition. Transparency, clear limits and public communication are key. Drones can help solve real problems, but only if residents trust the way they are used.”
Councils in Bradford, Buckinghamshire, Norfolk and Fife are among those currently using the technology as part of their planning permission inspections.
Some 21 local authorities around the country are authorised by the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) to deploy drones, which many are using to police residents from the skies. But some are said to be using them to uncover evidence that households are underpaying taxes, or don’t have the correct planning permissions for features like extensions.
The full list of councils with drone authorisation from the CAA is as follows:
East Ayrshire Council
Fife Council Building Services
Neath Port Talbot County Borough Council
Causeway Coast and Glens Borough Council
BCP Council
Northumberland County Council
Solihull Metropolitan Borough Council
North Warwickshire Borough Council
Repairs and Maintenance Service Stoke on Trent City Council
Lincolnshire County Council Trading as Lincolnshire Resilience Forum
Milton Keynes Council
North West Leicestershire District Council
South Tyneside Council
Ards and North Down Borough Council
Bristol City Council
Maidstone Borough Council
Havant Borough Council
Ceredigion County Council
Sunderland City Council Regeneration Team
Sefton Metropolitan Borough Council
Stockton on Tees Borough Council
The owner of a private drone agency, The Drone Detective, told the Daily Mail it is employed by councils to take pictures and videos of homes that could be underpaying taxes or breaking planning permission rules. In one case, it was deployed recently by an unnamed local council to uncover subletting fraud. The firm used its drone to take pictures of people coming in and out of properties to prove they were living there without permission.
Jake Hurtford, of action group Big Brother Watch, told the newspaper: “These drones have a use – such as for monitoring floods, land survey and spotting fly-tippers. But the technology should not be allowed to create spies in the sky.
“We are already one of the most spied on countries in the world – with cameras monitoring us on the roads. Do we really need flying cameras now as well?
“Councils are permitted to fly drones over households, as residents only own the land their property is built on and not the air above it. However, they can’t spy on you in your garden or home, or listen in to a private conversation, using technology or any other means, as this would be a breach of data protection laws.”
There is no doubt that this increase in population surveillance is just part of a longer-term strategy by the Labour government to embed social control over the UK, and is intended to link up with the digital ID strategy that they hope to sneak into public life as a further step towards a ‘progressive’ socialist state.
It can be expected that the more political elements of the police nationally will increase the use of drone surveillance on political demonstrations and protests, especially on anything regarded as being ‘Far-Right’ by Labour Party politicians. No doubt facial recognition software will also be employed to track those regarded as being politically unacceptable.
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Main Image: Stock image.
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