Keir Starmer accused of covering up migrant crime data in huge new row

Sir Keir Starmer forced Labour MPs to cover up data on migrant crimes to avoid even bigger rows over immigration policies, Robert Jenrick has warned. On Tuesday, the Shadow Justice Secretary tried to force through proposals to compel ministers to reveal the immigration, visa and asylum statuses of offenders.

But Labour MPs shot down the plans, triggering a wave of fury. Just 109 politicians backed Mr Jenrick's call for greater transparency, while 298 Labour MPs voted against it. Mr Jenrick said: "It is utterly shameful that Starmer has forced Labour MPs to cover up the migrant crime data.

"The British people have been gaslit about the costs of mass migration for years. They are owed the truth about the migrants entering our country.

"We will continue to pressure the Government to release the data - and, crucially, act on it to keep the public safe."

Mr Jenrick's proposals would have mirrored an approach by some US states and Denmark, where league tables reveal the nationalities committing the most offences and how they compare to the domestic population.

Research compiled by the Centre for Migration Control suggested that foreign nationals were convicted of up to a quarter of sex crimes despite census data showing that they made up just 9.3% of the population.

Labour has proposed its own league tables of migrant crime rates based on the nationalities and foreign criminals living in communities while awaiting deportation.

But it is not clear when this data will be published.