A speech by Reform UK Senedd member Jason O’Connell has intensified debate over whether smart glasses should be restricted in parliamentary buildings. O’Connell delivered a five-minute argument against Wales’ default 20mph speed limit on 30 September without consulting visible notes, while observers noticed intermittent flashes in his lenses and suspected they might be displaying prompts. There has been no suggestion that the glasses were recording.
O’Connell cited Cardiff’s review of 192 roads after 933 requests, saying four routes had returned to 30mph. He also claimed the 20mph policy had cost £38. 3m to implement and caused as much as £8. 9bn in economic damage.
The episode led Senedd members to call for explicit rules on smart-glasses use. At Westminster, Liberal Democrat culture, media and sport spokesperson Anna Sabine urged Commons Speaker Lindsay Hoyle to act, arguing that glasses capable of displaying prompts could affect how parliamentary contributions are prepared and that camera-equipped versions could record private meetings or documents without being noticed. Parliament is reviewing the use of camera-, microphone- and AI-enabled glasses and other wearable technology across the estate.
In a written answer on 15 September, senior deputy speaker Lord Ponsonby said new Lords guidance covered camera, microphone and AI-enabled smart glasses and that recording required authorisation. He said a wider review was considering security, privacy, data protection, operational needs and accessibility, with input from relevant parliamentary officials and member-governance bodies. The review has not yet produced a decision to ban the devices.
The technology has already faced tighter controls elsewhere. His Majesty’s Courts and Tribunals Service prohibits Meta smart glasses in courts in England and Wales, where people attempting to enter with them can have the devices held until they leave. The restrictions reflect existing prohibitions on unauthorised photography and recording in court buildings. O’Connell later posted a photograph of himself wearing oversized pink glasses for a breast-cancer charity, writing that he was “trialling some new glasses for the chamber” after the earlier controversy.