Crimes against women are “simply being ignored” by the government, Labour has claimed, after it was revealed a key crime statistic often quoted by ministers does not include instances of rape or other sexual offences.
Shadow Home Secretary Yvette Cooper said she is “extremely concerned about the missing information and analysis on what’s happening about crimes against women”, following a revelation about the way the Office for National Statistics (ONS) gathers certain figures.
Ministers have often boasted about a halving of “total” crime since the Conservatives took power in 2010 but the ONS does not include many sexual offences when calculating that measure.
It comes after separate figures released by the National Centre for Domestic Abuse and Violence suggested more victims than ever before are coming forward for support.