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| Version 1 | Version 2 |
|---|---|
| 'Selective' knife figures blasted | 'Selective' knife figures blasted |
| (40 minutes later) | |
| Downing Street released "unchecked" and "selective" statistics in a bid to prove a knife crime crackdown was working, a watchdog has said. | |
| The figures claimed to show fewer youths had been caught with knives in areas targeted by police in England. | |
| But Sir Michael Scholar, head of the new UK Statistics Authority, said they should not have been published. | |
| The Lib Dems said ministers had been "caught peddling dodgy statistics". The Tories called for the full figures. | |
| The statistics released on Thursday by Number 10 and the Home Office appeared to suggest there had been a sharp fall in the number of teenagers caught carrying knives and hospital admissions due to knife wounds in areas targeted by police. | |
| They pointed to a 17% fall in serious injuries and deaths across nine police force areas over the past six months as well as a 27% fall in hospital admissions. | They pointed to a 17% fall in serious injuries and deaths across nine police force areas over the past six months as well as a 27% fall in hospital admissions. |
| 'Corrosive' | 'Corrosive' |
| Sir Michael has written to leading civil servants in No 10 and the Home Office to express his concern about the robustness of the figures and the manner in which they were released. | Sir Michael has written to leading civil servants in No 10 and the Home Office to express his concern about the robustness of the figures and the manner in which they were released. |
| I hope you will agree that the publication of prematurely released and unchecked statistics is corrosive of public trust in official statistics Sir Michael Scholar, UK Statistics Authority Mark Easton's blog class="" href="/1/hi/uk_politics/7780330.stm">In full: Watchdog's letter | |
| In his letter, he said the figures were not due for release "for some time" and that officials at the ONS - which the Authority oversees - tried to stop their release. | In his letter, he said the figures were not due for release "for some time" and that officials at the ONS - which the Authority oversees - tried to stop their release. |
| The figures were provisional, he said, and had not passed through the "regular process of checking and quality assurance". | The figures were provisional, he said, and had not passed through the "regular process of checking and quality assurance". |
| Sir Michael said he had been told by Office for National Statistics (ONS) officials that "officials or advisers in No 10 caused the Home Office to issue a press release" containing the information. | |
| "I hope you will agree that the publication of prematurely released and unchecked statistics is corrosive of public trust in official statistics and incompatible with the high standards which we are all seeking to establish," he wrote. | "I hope you will agree that the publication of prematurely released and unchecked statistics is corrosive of public trust in official statistics and incompatible with the high standards which we are all seeking to establish," he wrote. |
| The figures covered the six months since the Home Office launched a £2m campaign to crack down on knife carrying in 10 "hotspots" including London, Greater Manchester and the West Midlands. | The figures covered the six months since the Home Office launched a £2m campaign to crack down on knife carrying in 10 "hotspots" including London, Greater Manchester and the West Midlands. |
| These included increased use of stop-and-search powers. | These included increased use of stop-and-search powers. |
| At the time, Home Secretary Jacqui Smith welcomed the progress that had been made but said more needed to be done. | At the time, Home Secretary Jacqui Smith welcomed the progress that had been made but said more needed to be done. |
| 'Culture of spin' | |
| But with question marks now raised about the data, the Tories called for ministers to explain themselves. | But with question marks now raised about the data, the Tories called for ministers to explain themselves. |
| "The knife crime epidemic is a tragedy that has claimed too many young lives," said shadow home secretary Dominic Grieve. | "The knife crime epidemic is a tragedy that has claimed too many young lives," said shadow home secretary Dominic Grieve. |
| "If government ministers have sanctioned the selective and manipulative spinning of these statistics, it is reckless and irresponsible." | "If government ministers have sanctioned the selective and manipulative spinning of these statistics, it is reckless and irresponsible." |
| The UK Statistics Authority was created last year as part of a move to give ONS its operational independence and to improve trust in public statistics. | The UK Statistics Authority was created last year as part of a move to give ONS its operational independence and to improve trust in public statistics. |
| "Labour should immediately publish the full figures so that we can see the truth," Mr Grieve added. | |
| For the Lib Dems, shadow home affairs spokesman Chris Huhne said "the culture of spin" seemed to be alive and well at the heart of government. | |
| "If ministers want the British people to trust anything they say, statistics must be made completely independent of government," he said. | |
| "Unfortunately it still seems that ministers are prepared to put courting the headlines ahead of checking the facts." |