Ikea put CCTV above Peterborough toilets to check drug use

The furniture chain says it has removed cameras above toilets and locker areas at its Peterborough warehouse

Surveillance cameras installed in a void above toilets to catch illegal drug activity at an Ikea distribution centre accidentally filmed other areas of the toilets, an investigation found.

The furniture giant said the CCTV was placed in areas at the depot in Peterborough, Cambridgeshire, in 2015.

Cameras were only supposed to film within the void, but when ceiling tiles became loose, other areas were visible.

Ikea said no-one was filmed in cubicles and its policies had been "revised".

The Peterborough distribution centre at Kingston Park, near the A1, helps supply goods to the Swedish-based firm's 22 stores across the UK.

In September 2021, investigations were launched following the discovery of video cameras in the ceiling void above bathroom facilities at the centre.

The company confirmed the cameras had been removed.

After the discovery was made public, one former Ikea worker, Shannon Bodily, told the BBC she had never spotted cameras in the areas mentioned but felt "shock" after hearing about them.

"I feel vulnerable, I feel violated," she said.

Former Ikea worker Shannon Bodily said she felt "violated" by the cameras

At the conclusion of the investigation, an Ikea spokesman said: "In November 2015, cameras were installed in the ceiling voids above, and corridors outside, 10 bathroom facilities across our Peterborough distribution centre.

"Whilst the intention at the time was to ensure the health and safety of co-workers, we understand the fact that colleagues were filmed unknowingly in these circumstances will have caused real concern, and for this we are sincerely sorry."

He said the cameras were installed following "serious concerns about the use of drugs onsite, which, owing to the nature of work carried out at the site, could have very serious consequences for the safety of our co-workers".

They had been sanctioned following "multiple attempts to address serious concerns about drug use, and the use of false urine samples as a way of disguising it".

"The cameras placed within the voids were positioned only to record irregular activity in the ceiling voids," he said.

"They were not intended to, and did not, record footage in the toilet cubicles themselves.

"However, as a result of ceiling tiles becoming dislodged, two cameras inadvertently recorded footage of the communal areas of two bathrooms for a period of time in 2017. The footage was not viewed at the time and was only recovered as part of these investigations."

Ikea launched the investigation at its Peterborough distribution and customer services centre

The investigation involved an independent third party team brought in to review available footage, the company said.

The spokesman added: "While our policies for the use of cameras have been updated since 2015, following this incident we have carefully reviewed and revised our policies once again to set out very strict controls for their use at any of our sites.

"We have communicated our findings to the Information Commissioner's Office, the UK regulator for data privacy."