The Tories were today embroiled in a new row with statistics chiefs after insisting that violent crime has soared under Labour. Chris Grayling, the Shadow Home Secretary, ratcheted up the tension over misleading figures after asking parliamentary statisticians to ajudicate. A new study, by the House of Commons library, suggests that violent crime against the person has risen 44 per cent since between 1998-99 and today.
But the figure has already been called into question by Sir Michael Scholar. Correspondence released by the UK Statistics Authority yesterday showed that Sir Michael had refused to give Mr Grayling the go ahead to present the new figure as authoritative. In a letter sent yesterday, he warned Mr Grayling that selective quotation of statistics “could prove misleading”. He continued: “A balanced presentation of an inevitably complex case would refer to all available statistics and the uncertainties and ambiguities which they sometimes reveal.” He said that a more balanced commentary would also refer to the British Crime Survey. The government does not recognise the library's study.
