Sir Keir Starmer has called for the police to be as ‘transparent as possible’ about the ethnicity of suspected sex offenders.
The Prime Minister was forced to respond on Monday after Nigel Farage’s demanded that police disclose the backgrounds of those charged with rape and sexual assault.
It comes after the Mail on Sunday revealed that two Afghan asylum seekers have been charged in connection with the alleged rape of a 12-year-old girl in Nuneaton, Warwickshire.
In a press conference on Monday, the Reform UK leader accused police of a ‘cover-up’ for failing to divulge the ethnicity or immigration status of the two men.
He warned that it was ‘reminiscent’ of speculation about the background of the Southport killer last year which triggered a wave of conspiracy theories and riots last summer.
Appearing alongside him, the 19-year-old Reform leader of Warwickshire County Council said he had ‘begged’ the police force to release details of the men’s backgrounds.
George Finch claimed he had been told he could not release information about the men’s background himself ‘due to this phrase “community cohesion”.’
Mr Farage’s intervention prompted Downing Street to tell the police to be as ‘transparent as possible’ when it came to revealing the ethnicity of people charged with offences.
The Prime Minister’s spokesman said the Government had ‘always said, and continues to say, that transparency is important’.
He said the case in Nuneaton was ‘clearly a deeply upsetting and distressing case, which the public are right to feel shocked and angry about.’
‘Our position is that all authorities, from the police up to central government, should be as transparent as possible when handling these cases,’ he added.
Ahmad Mulakhil, 23, was charged with rape and Mohammad Kabir, also 23, was charged with aiding and abetting an assault, as well as strangulation and kidnapping.
The Reform leader said that the backgrounds of suspects charged with sexual assault and rape should be shared with the public.
‘Our position is that all authorities, from the police up to central government, should be as transparent as possible when handling these cases,’ he said.
‘Given there’s a pretty febrile atmosphere… particularly [around] sexual assaults and rapes, where the temperature on this debate has risen significantly… I do believe they should [disclose suspects’ ethnicities].’
He warned that failing to disclose these details could lead to a repeat of the riots which happened in the wake of the murders of three children last year.
‘What caused unrest on our streets after Southport last year was us not being told the status of the attacker,’ he said.
‘That led to crazy conspiracy theories spreading online.’
The aftermath of the murder of three young girls at a Taylor Swift-themed event by Axel Rudakubana a year ago sparked riots across the country.
The unrest was fuelled by conspiracy theories and speculation on social media that the suspect was an illegal migrant.
Jonathan Hall, the independent reviewer of terrorism legislation, later said that the failure to share basic facts had led to ‘dangerous fictions’ which caused the riots.
Warwickshire Police has defended its position on the Nuneaton case, stating: ‘We follow national guidance,’ adding that this does not extend to ‘sharing ethnicity or immigration status’.
‘Where relevant, sensitive information around locations, details of the crime and policing activity to catch offenders can be shared, with a warning that this is sensitive or confidential information and disclosure by those being briefed could affect future court hearings,’ it said.
The guidance is issued by the Royal College of Policing and covers what details should be released to media but does not mention details of race, ethnicity or immigration status.
Mr Finch, the 19-year-old council leader, told the press conference that he had been ‘begging’ for information about the men to be released.
He said he had emailed the council’s chief executive to urge them to release information about the men’s immigration status.
He said he also wrote to Home Secretary Yvette Cooper and the chief constable of Warwickshire Police calling for the immediate release of their immigration status.
In it, he claimed that a ‘cover-up’ of the men’s background ‘risks public disorder breaking out on the streets of Warwickshire’.
‘Having my ear to the ground locally, it is clear that there is much appetite for protests to take place across the county,’ the letter adds.
During the press conference, Mr Farage also revealed the defection of Rupert Matthews, the Tory police and crime commissioner for Leicestershire.
The former Tory MEP and party member for 40 years left the party because he said Britain needed to cut the ‘dark heart of wokeness’ out of the criminal justice system.
The author of various books on ghosts and UFOs becomes the party’s first police and crime commissioner.
