Police forced to apologize to those stopped after officials find 40 operations under section 44 were illegal

LONDON, England - June 10, 2010 - - Tens of thousands of people have been stopped in the street and searched unlawfully under controversial section 44 anti-terrorism powers, the Home Office has revealed.

Fourteen police forces are urgently trying to find the individuals involved so they can apologise to them after being told by the Home Office that errors had been found in the way 40 separate stop and search operations were authorised since the powers were introduced in 2001.

Nick Herbert, the police minister, said in a Commons statement that the mistake was discovered after a freedom of information request triggered a review of the Metropolitan police's section 44 records.

"The Met identified an authorisation from April 2004 which had not been confirmed by a Home Office minister within the statutory 48-hour deadline for confirmation," Herbert said.

"Subsequent investigations revealed that approximately 840 were stopped and searched in the relevant area during the period of the invalid authorization."