Robert Jenrick has blasted the Labour Government for hiding the truth about crime committed by migrants, accusing officials of an “institutional cover-up” that the British public deserves to know about.
The former immigration minister has promised that, if he becomes Prime Minister, he will finally reveal which nationalities are linked to the highest crime rates — data he says is being swept under the rug by the Home Office and Ministry of Justice.
In an interview with The Telegraph, Jenrick stated that under the current “lax immigration controls,” the UK is “importing serious and violent crime.” His comments come after various attempts by MPs and campaigners to access such information through parliamentary questions and Freedom of Information (FOI) requests were thwarted. Despite data being available through police and government databases, the Home Office, Ministry of Justice (MoJ), and Office for National Statistics (ONS) have yet to make this information public.
Jenrick argued that publishing this data would mirror the approach taken by Denmark and some US states, which provide detailed breakdowns of crimes by nationality. He pointed out that in Denmark, data shows that nationals from countries such as Kuwait, Tunisia, and Somalia are significantly more likely to commit crimes compared to Danish citizens.
The debate surrounding transparency in migration data comes at a time when concerns over crime linked to migrant communities are intensifying. A recent investigation by the Telegraph revealed that over 700 Albanian migrants who crossed the Channel in small boats had set up a secret Telegram channel to coordinate drug-related activities. The publication of such crime data, Jenrick believes, could help the Home Office tighten visa and deportation policies for specific nationalities linked to higher crime rates.
The proposal has garnered support from other prominent Conservative figures, including Tom Tugendhat, the shadow security minister, who believes that more transparency could help ministers adjust immigration rules and improve deportation agreements with foreign governments.
However, efforts to access such data have been met with resistance. Neil O’Brien, a former minister, revealed that requests for nationality-linked crime statistics were denied on the grounds of “disproportionate cost.” O’Brien argued that the Home Office already collects substantial data on arrests by ethnicity, but refuses to provide further breakdowns by nationality, making it difficult to assess the impact of migrants on crime rates.
O’Brien and Jenrick previously led a project to gather more accurate estimates on migrants’ use of the NHS, which resulted in increased health surcharges for migrants. They argue that improving migration data is essential for having an informed discussion on the issue.
As the public debate around immigration and crime intensifies, Jenrick’s call for transparency signals a broader push within the Conservative Party to reform the UK’s approach to immigration and law enforcement. Whether the government will respond to these demands for data disclosure remains to be seen.
