Smart glasses in Westminster prompt ban calls after Reform politician's teleprompter speech

Jason O'Connell, the Reform member for Pontypridd Cynon Merthyr, was leading his party's campaign to abolish 20mph traffic zones in the Senedd chamber when listeners noticed a periodic flashing in his spectacle lenses. He delivered his figures without glancing down. “Cardiff reviewed 192 roads, following 933 requests, and only four routes have returned to 30mph,” he said. “£38.3m wasted to implement this policy and up to £8.9bn in an act of economic self-harm.” The Guardian reported that his fluency was suspected to come not from memory but from smart glasses that turn the lenses into tiny teleprompters.

There was no suggestion that O'Connell's glasses were recording. In the days afterwards, Senedd members said the issue of smart glasses, popularised by Mark Zuckerberg's Meta, needed to be dealt with at pace, with explicit guidance developed on their use.

The devices have also become an issue at Westminster. The Liberal Democrats wrote to Lindsay Hoyle, the Commons speaker, on Wednesday urging him to act amid the “increasing use of smart glasses” on the parliamentary estate. They warned that with Christmas coming, even more people could start using the AI-enabled devices in 2027.

Anna Sabine, the Liberal Democrat spokesperson for culture, media and sport, said smart glasses could lead to debates becoming increasingly “managed”. “How much is the quality of what an MP is saying actually down to what they're getting through the AI glasses?” she said. “It's a really interesting question.”

Sabine said she had not yet identified anyone wearing smart glasses in parliament, adding: “This is the problem: I wouldn't necessarily know.” A law, she said, would help keep the estate and the work MPs did “private and secure”.

She added: “Smart glasses can record video and take photographs discreetly … creating a particular risk to the existing rules on the parliamentary estate [limiting recording and photography]. I am regularly in meetings with documents or talking about important, private matters on behalf of my constituents. I am sure you will agree that the details of such cases should never be at risk of being shared because someone is filming or taking pictures discreetly. Because smart glasses look like ordinary glasses, and increasingly their recording indicator lights can be covered or disabled, filming could easily go unnoticed by security teams, putting private information at risk.”

A spokesperson for the UK parliament said it was reviewing its policy on the use of camera-equipped smart glasses, as well as other forms of wearable technology, on the parliamentary estate. The senior deputy speaker of the House of Lords, Lord Ponsonby, told parliament last month that the review “is considering the implications of these emerging technologies and whether additional guidance is required”.

He added: “This work will bring together expertise from those responsible for filming and photography policy, physical and information security, privacy and data protection compliance and accessibility and reasonable-adjustment requirements, ensuring that any future approach appropriately balances security, privacy, operational needs and accessibility considerations.”

O'Connell has been contacted for comment. On Sunday he posted a picture on X of himself wearing a pair of comedy large pink glasses for a breast cancer charity, with the message: “Trialling some new glasses for the chamber this week. Apparently my last ones caused quite a stir.”

Editor's Summary

A Reform UK member of the Welsh Senedd is suspected of having used smart glasses as a teleprompter during a five-minute speech on 20mph zones, though there is no suggestion the glasses were recording. The Liberal Democrats have written to the Commons speaker asking for the devices to be banned at Westminster, citing privacy and the risk of discreet filming. Parliament says it is reviewing its policy on camera-equipped smart glasses and other wearable technology, including whether additional guidance is needed.