Tories demand knife data apology
The Tories have demanded an apology after Downing Street admitted
releasing data on knife crime in the face of objections from
statisticians.
Sir Michael Scholar, head of the UK Statistics Authority, said officials
pleaded with No 10 not to release "unchecked" and "selective" numbers.
The government admitted "insufficient attention" was given to the
authority's views on releasing the data.
MPs are to carry out an inquiry into the release of the data.
The government's decision has also been criticised by senior Labour
backbenchers.
The authority's protests were over-ruled by ministers eager to show a
crackdown on knife crime in England was working.
Responding to Sir Michael's letter of complaint, Permanent Secretary at
10 Downing Street, Jeremy Heywood said "the prime minister and all his
ministers, officials and advisers take very seriously the importance of
maintaining the integrity of official statistics".
But he added: "In this case...insufficient attention appears to have
been given to the views of the NHS Information Centre statisticians on
whether one specific data set included in the Tackling Knives Action
Programme fact sheet was ready for publication.
'Political manipulation'
In a press release issued on Thursday, Number 10 and the Home Office
said there had been a sharp fall in the number of teenagers caught
carrying knives in England 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.
Sir Michael told the BBC that government statisticians had asked Number
10 not to publish the data until March when the knife crime campaign
would have ended and it could be properly checked and published in its
proper context.
Asked why Downing Street had acted against the advice of officials, he
said: "The government was making a series of announcements about this
issue and felt its case would be put better if it could publish these
numbers."
The government had "breached" the code governing official statistics by
publishing just "one part" of the numbers.
Tony Wright, the Labour chairman of the Commons Public Administration
Committee, said his committee will carry out the inquiry.
He told the BBC's Today programme: "We are going to find out exactly
what happened in this case and make sure that an edict goes out across
Whitehall that it never happens again.
"We need to find out who in Number 10 and who in the Home Office thought
they could do this."
He added: "There is a new regime for the release of official statistics
and this breaks the rules and it shouldn't have done."
Conservative leader David Cameron said an apology was needed from Gordon
Brown.
He told Sky News: "We are not going to get anywhere with a government
giving us dodgy statistics and deliberately disobeying what its own
Statistics Authority is saying.
"It really is an appalling way to behave. The prime minister has got to
own up to it, he's got to apologise for it and he's got to make sure it
never happens again."
'Accurate statistics'
Immigration Minister Phil Woolas said the government had to accept the
criticism but denied the figures had been manipulated.
"The idea that there is a conspiracy behind this, I goodness wish that
Whitehall was so sophisticated, I can assure you it's not.
"But the fact of the matter is that crime by knives has fallen, an that
surely is what is important."
However Keith Vaz, Labour MP and chairman of the Commons Home Affairs
Committee, said the early release of figures "greatly undermined" public
trust in the government.
He said: "It is important that we have accurate statistics that we can
rely upon in order to craft policy to resolve problems as well to gauge
when legislation is working. Public trust is greatly undermined by
actions such as this."
The BBC's Mark Easton said the episode was damaging for trust in crime
figures and official statistics in general.
The figures covered the period since the Home Office launched a £2m
campaign in June to crack down on knife carrying in 10 "hotspots"
including London, Greater Manchester and the West Midlands.
Story from BBC NEWS:
http://news.
Sunday, 14 December 2008
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