Human rights campaigners are to take legal action in a bid to force police to remove CCTV cameras placed in a city as part of a controversial scheme, they have said.
West Midlands Police has already apologised over the initiative which saw more than 200 surveillance cameras installed in two largely Muslim neighbourhoods in Birmingham.
The force has accepted that it got the balance between counter-terrorism and excessive intrusion into people's lives "so wrong".
The cameras, some of which were hidden, sparked anger from civil liberties campaigners and residents in Sparkbrook and Washwood Heath, where they were predominantly installed.
Human rights group Liberty said the force would face a judicial review of the "unlawful, intrusive and discriminatory" Project Champion scheme if a commitment was not given within 14 days to remove all associated cameras.
A spokeswoman said: "Liberty has today written to the architects of the Project Champion counter-terror scheme to inform them that they must to agree to dismantle the full surveillance infrastructure or proceedings will be commenced in the High Court.
"The force must also acknowledge that the decision to install the cameras was unlawful and in breach of residents' rights under Articles 8 and 14 of the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR)."
The organisation said that police had indicated they still intended to use at least some of the cameras associated with the scheme.
Corinna Ferguson, legal officer at Liberty who represents a number of residents of the affected areas, said: "It is baffling that West Midlands Police are still trying to salvage this unlawful and discriminatory scheme. These cameras are useless for everyday policing and must be removed immediately if badly damaged community relations are to be repaired."
