British justice authorities are fighting in court to prevent crime statistics broken down by nationality from being made public.
Justice Secretary David Lammy is now being accused by the opposition of engaging in a cover-up, The Telegraph writes.
More than a year ago, the think tank Centre for Migration Control (CMC) requested access to the total number of convictions in England and Wales from 2018 to 2024, broken down by nationality and type of offence. The Ministry of Justice rejected the request, citing disproportionate cost and privacy concerns.
Britain’s information commissioner rejected both arguments. The commissioner concluded that the cost estimate lacked documentation and that privacy concerns could be resolved by omitting offences with fewer than five convictions. The commissioner ordered the department to disclose the information. The Ministry of Justice refuses to do so and has appealed the decision.
Shadow Justice Secretary Nick Timothy of the Conservative Party believes the government is attempting to conceal serious figures.
– Labour has consistently refused to publish sexual-offence data by nationality, even though we know that migrants from certain countries are far more likely to be convicted of rape and sexual assault, Timothy tells the newspaper.
Robert Jenrick, Reform UK’s economic spokesman, believes that both the Conservatives and Labour have attempted to conceal the information.
– The cover-up continues. A Reform government under Nigel Farage will immediately reveal what is actually happening and begin deporting these dangerous criminals, Jenrick says.
The limited figures already published show that foreign nationals accounted for one in seven convictions for sexual offences last year, equivalent to 14.1 per cent. A more detailed breakdown would reveal the number of rapes, grooming cases and child-abuse offences within this category. The same applies to murder, attempted murder and serious violence under the category of violence against the person.
CMC research director Robert Bates, who submitted the freedom-of-information request, says he will use every available means to have the information released.
The Ministry of Justice denies that there is any cover-up, but will not comment further on the appeal case.