Readers concerned about police use of video cameras at local protests may like to know they are entitled, under section 7(1) of the Data Protection Act 1998, to request copies of any information held on you in film format.

Requests should be addressed to the Data Protection Officer at Sussex Police HQ and accompanied by a detailed description of the situation in which the film was taken.

A sample letter is available in the Campaigns section of the Mark Thomas Product web site, in the CCTV/Data Protection section (http://www.mtcp.co.uk/).

Sussex Police will be entitled to charge you up to £10 to cover the costs of what can prove to be an expensive and time-consuming process.

-Jez Macdonald, Carlyle Street, Brighton