Extremists could seek to deploy “toy drones” to wreak havoc on Britain’s streets, the Government’s terrorism tsar has warned.
Jonathan Hall KC, the independent reviewer of terrorism legislation, said stricter regulation must be brought in to ensure aerial vehicles do not fall into the hands of the wrong people.
Current rules enforced by the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) require people operating drones weighing more than 250g to be registered and pass a theory test. However, lighter devices are widely available and are not subject to the same rules.
The world’s biggest drone company DJI sells multiple models advertised as weighing 249g.
Mr Hall told the Global Counterterrorism Forum in London last week: “Drones have been adopted by criminals – for example, to fly contraband into prisons – and will no doubt be adopted further by terrorists.
“In the UK there is regulation affecting the use of drones and it includes some provision for licensing users, but the regulation does not apply to ‘toy’ drones.
“If the law does not keep pace with technologies, then moral panic will set in. What will we do if drones are raced down streets or used to harass traffic? Will we accept an anarchic freedom as we have with the online world?
“I suggest that in the absence of laws, terrorists will be emboldened to use drones; and society may end up overreacting, and miss out on their benefits.
“I suggest that regulating not just the manufacture but the use of drones – high-speed moving objects – is much more akin to the car model where anonymity is not tolerated and rules are widely applied and accepted.”