The Home Secretary today called for a change to police guidance so that officers reveal the immigration status of suspected offenders.
Yvette Cooper said the Government wanted to see the public provided with more details about the backgrounds of those charged with criminal offences.
She told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme that national guidance issued to police forces across the country needed to be altered.
It comes after Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer called for the police to be as ‘transparent as possible’ about the ethnicity of suspected sex offenders.
Sir Keir was forced to respond after Reform UK leader Nigel Farage demanded that police disclose the backgrounds of those charged with rape and sexual assault.
Ms Cooper said this morning: ‘We do think the guidance needs to change.
‘And we have also already about six months ago, we asked the Law Commission to look at this and to accelerate their review around some of the contempt of court issues.
‘That’s about what information can be released when there’s a trial pending.’
Home Secretary Yvette Cooper said the Government wants to see the public provided with more details about the backgrounds of those charged with criminal offences
It comes after Sir Keir Starmer 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
The Home Secretary acknowledged it was ‘an operational decision’ for the police and Crown Prosecution Service to determine ‘on an individual case what and when information can be revealed in a live investigation’.
But she added: ‘We do think that the guidance needs to change.
‘The College of Policing is already looking at this, and Home Office officials are working with the College of Policing.’
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.’
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, Mr Farage 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.
Mr Farage said on Monday that it was ‘absolutely disgraceful’ that the police had not informed the public that the men were Afghan asylum seekers.
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].’
Mr Farage said on Monday that the backgrounds of suspects charged with sexual assault and rape should be shared publicly
The PM’s spokesman said the case in Nuneaton (pictured) was ‘clearly a deeply upsetting and distressing case, which the public are right to feel shocked and angry about’
Mr Farage 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.
George Finch, the 19-year-old Reform leader of Warwickshire County Council, said he had ‘begged’ for the release of details about the men’s backgrounds
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 the Home Secretary 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 added.
