Dr Alan McKenna\u2019s expertise in the law applying to the use of drones continues to be called upon by both the media and the Government in the UK.<\/p>\n
Dr McKenna was questioned during a live five-minute interview on BBC Radio Kent\u2019s Saturday Breakfast<\/a> show in the wake of news that Kent Police and Kent Fire and Rescue are both proposing to employ the use of drones later this year to help fight crime and to assist in searches for missing people.<\/p>\n During the interview, Dr McKenna described the benefits of using drones but also said that concerns about safety (and about the use of drone film footage) were legitimate. He also talked of the importance of enforcing existing law, particularly in light of the fact that despite 19 near misses being officially reported in 2015, all the pilots remained unidentified.<\/p>\n Listen again online<\/a> (01:10:50 minutes in).<\/p>\n The weekend before, Dr McKenna was invited to participate in a one-day Public Dialogue meeting in Salisbury about the use of drones in the UK. The meeting was organised by the Department of Transport and Ministry of Defence as part of a structured process seeking public input to inform\u00a0Government policy.<\/p>\n Dr McKenna\u2019s expertise in law and the use of drones was much in demand by media outlets across the UK in 2015<\/a>. This followed the publication of a House of Lords report, Civilian Use of Drones in the EU<\/a>, to which Dr McKenna had contributed written evidence. Dr McKenna\u2019s research was subsequently referenced at the launch of a debate on the civilian use of drones by Baroness O\u2019Cathain in the House of Lords in September.<\/p>\n In addition to drone use, Dr McKenna\u2019s research interests include the information society, communication law, information law, media, human rights, information technology law, international commercial law, data protection, privacy and asbestos-related issues. Further details of Dr McKenna’s research interests and publications are available on his staff profile page<\/a>.<\/p>\n