Sir Keir Starmer has indicated that the police should have greater transparency over the ethnicity of criminal suspects involved in high-profile cases.
Law enforcement agencies and governing authorities “should always be as transparent as possible” about criminal cases, the Prime Minister's official spokesman suggested.
The No10 spokesman said: “We’ve always said and continue to say that transparency is important, and that is our position.
"That from the police up to central Government, we should always be as transparent as possible when it comes to cases."
Keir Starmer demands police transparency over ethnicity of sex offence suspects after Nigel Farage issues Southport warning
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He added: "I think our position is always that the police and the courts are operationally independent in these cases, that’s obviously essential to democracy and confidence in the judicial system.
"But as I say, more broadly, our position is that authorities, whether it is the police or whether it’s central Government, should be as transparent as possible on these issues.”
It comes hours after Reform UK leader Nigel Farage issued a stark warning about the consequences of police forces not releasing the immigration status of people after they were charged with a crime.
The Reform UK leader told a press conference: “I absolutely think that they should and I think particularly given there is a pretty febrile atmosphere around these areas, particularly sexual assaults and rapes where the temperature of this debate has risen significantly, yes I do believe they should."
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Nigel Farage issued a stark warning about the consequences of police forces not releasing the immigration status of people after they were charged with a crime
| PAHe also warned that uncertainty could lead to widespread unrest like Britain experienced following the murder of three young girls in Southport last August.
"What caused unrest on our streets after Southport last year was us not being told the status of the attacker," Farage said.
"That led to crazy conspiracy theories spreading online."
The riots were partly blamed on false claims circulating on social media that the Southport attacker was a Muslim asylum seeker who had arrived in Britain on a small boat across the Channel, with other false rumours suggesting the killer had been on an MI6 watchlist.
Bebe King, six, Elsie Dot Stancombe, seven, and Alice Dasilva Aguiar, nine, were all killed in the attack | Family handoutsAxel Rudakubana killed three girls and attempted to murder eight others at a summer holiday Taylor Swift-themed dance event in the seaside town.
Six-year-old Bebe King, Elsie Dot Stancombe, who was seven, and nine-year-old Alice da Silva Aguiar died in the attack.
Riots across the nation broke out following the brutal murders.
The Prime Minister’s spokesman referenced the commissioning of new advice from the Law Commission in March.