HC Deb 30 June 2003 vol 408 cc7-8W
Bob Spink

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many anti-semitic incidents were recorded in each of the last five years; and if he will make a statement on the trend over the last year. [120937]

Fiona Mactaggart

The Government publishes general statistics on racist incidents and racially-aggravated crime, but does not hold figures on specifically anti-semitic incidents. However, according to figures made available by the Community Security Trust (CST), a body that advises and represents the Jewish community on matters of anti-semitism and security, the numbers of anti-semitic incidents over the last five years were as follows:

Total number of incidents
1998 236
1999 270
2000 405
2001 310

According to the same source there were 89 anti-Semitic incidents reported in the first three months of 2003, an increase of 75 per cent. on the equivalent period in 2002. A high proportion of these incidents took place on university campuses.