GOVERNMENT ACCUSED OVER CRIME RISES

Official figures recorded by police in England and Wales said there were 10,182 firearms offences in the year to September, compared with 9,755 in the previous 12 months. Separate statistics showed the number of recorded drug offences jumped 21% in the third quarter of last year.

The wider picture was better news for the Government, with overall recorded crime falling by 9% to 1.24 million offences from July to September, compared with the same period the previous year.

The British Crime Survey (BCS) - a separate set of figures based on interviews with members of the public - said crime has remained stable.

Recorded crime figures showed the number of drug crimes was 55,700, up 9,500 on the same period in 2006.

Violence against the person fell by 8% and robbery by 17%, the figures reported.

The firearms figures showed there were six fewer gun-related deaths in the year - 49 compared with 55 - and serious injuries were down 16% to 368. But a 4% rise in slight injuries to 2,728 and 6% increases in both threats and non-injury incidents led to a 4% rise overall.

Shadow home secretary David Davis said: "These latest official figures show that Labour is failing to combat both violent crime and its causes," adding: "The Government's complacency shows they are part of the problem, not the solution."

Liberal Democrat home affairs spokesman Chris Huhne said: "Violent crime - including, most alarmingly, gun crime - is still far higher than 10 years ago and has to be tackled much more vigorously."

Home Secretary Jacqui Smith insisted there are some "excellent results" in the figures, adding: "I am particularly pleased that the risk of being a victim of crime is now at a historically low level."