Police should reveal the ethnicity and immigration status of criminal suspects, Yvette Cooper has said.
The home secretary told Sky News there needs to be “greater transparency” about people arrested and charged, with the Law Commission conducting a review of guidance in this area.
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The issue has been the subject of debate in a series of high-profile cases, including recently over the charging of two men – reported to be Afghan asylum seekers – over the alleged rape of a 12-year-old girl in Nuneaton.
The suspects’ ethnicities have not been confirmed.
Asked if she thought police should routinely reveal this detail, as Reform UK leader Nigel Farage has called for, Ms Cooper said: “We want more information, more transparency, and more information to be provided.
“We’ve said this for some time, and it’s why we asked the Law Commission to accelerate their review into the issues around contempt of court, because that’s about what information can be released once there are legal proceedings underway, once there’s a trial process under way.”
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Contempt of Court rules restrict the information that police can put out on the basis that it could prejudice a suspect’s right to a fair trial.
Speaking later to BBC Radio Four, Ms Cooper said that while it is an operational decision for police and the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) to decide what information to reveal in individual cases, “we do think that the guidance needs to change”.
Mr Farage has argued that retaining details on ethnicity and immigration status helps fuel unrest, as seen in the riots last summer after the Southport stabbings, when false rumours spread online that killer Axel Rudakubana was a Muslim asylum seeker.
“What caused unrest on our streets after Southport last year was us not being told the status of the attacker. That led to crazy conspiracy theories spreading online,” the Clacton MP said at a news conference on Monday.
Referring to the alleged rape in Nuneaton, Mr Farage said police should “spell out the basic and sober facts”, calling the lack of detail about the suspects’ ethnicity “a cover-up that in many ways is reminiscent of what happened after the Southport killings”.
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The force has defended its decision not to release further details of the suspects, saying that once someone is charged with an offence they follow national guidance, which “does not include sharing ethnicity or immigration status”.
Asked about the case on Monday, the prime minister’s official spokesman said the police and courts were operationally independent but “we should always be as transparent as possible when it comes to cases”.
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A College of Policing spokesman said: “Media relations guidance for police is already under review and is looking at how forces can best balance their obligations under contempt of court legislation with their responsibility to prevent disorder.
“Police forces make challenging and complex decisions on a case-by-case basis and transparency is essential to prevent misinformation and reassure the public.”
