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The court said the tactic violates human rights by humiliating and embarrassing people in public view.

BRUSSELS— In a major blow to the much-criticized British anti- terrorism powers, the European Court for Human Rights has dismissed the random police stop and search measures as a serious breach of human rights, asking London to suspended them.

"(They) amounted to a clear interference with the right to respect for private life," the Brussels-based court said in a statement cited by Agence France Presse (AFP).

The court's seven judges, including British Sir Nicolas Bratza, said the power is humiliating for many people.

"The public nature of the search, with the discomfort of having personal information exposed to public view, might even in certain cases compound the seriousness of the interference because of an element of humiliation and embarrassment."

The judges dismissed the argument that the searches were similar to those applied to travelers at airports.

"The individual can be stopped anywhere and at any time, without notice and without any choice as to whether or not to submit to a search," they explained.

The British government was also ordered to pay £30,400 in costs for British citizens Kevin Gillan and Pennie Quinton who brought the case to the court after being stopped by police outside an arms fair in London in September 2003.

In report issued in 2009, the independent reviewer of anti-terrorism legislation, Lord Carlile of Berriew, estimated that between 8,000 and 10,000 stops per month were taking place but none had resulted in convictions.

British Muslims, estimated at 2 million, have taken the full brunt of anti-terror laws, including the stop and search powers.

Many have complained of maltreatment by police for no apparent reason other than being Muslim.

Defiant

Quinton urged the government to abolish the controversial law.

"There has to be a balance between private life and security," she said.

"The court has shown that Section 44 is an invasion of people’s right to liberty and privacy."

Chris Grayling, the shadow Home Secretary, agreed.

"If tough laws introduced to combat terrorism are used for other purposes, it will only serve to undermine the credibility of those laws and makes it more difficult to take effective action against terrorists in future," he told The Independent on Wednesday, January 13.

He also vowed to cut the number of public bodies entitled to launch "snooping operations" under laws designed to combat terrorism and serious crime.

"We have got to get away from the situation where many different parts of government are using these powers for purposes they are completely unsuited for."

But the government remained defiant and vowed to challenge the EU ruling.

"As a result of the government decision to seek to appeal the ruling and following legal advice the current authorization to use Section 44 of the Terrorism Act 2000 remains in force in specified locations across London," Metropolitan Police said in a statement.

The controversial stop and search powers have been under repeated criticism from human rights groups in and outside Britain.

Public concerns about misusing the powers grew after Sir Edward Clay, a retired British diplomat, was stopped and searched on his way to work in May.