UK POLICE ENCOURAGED TO NAME SUSPECTS’ ETHNICITY AND NATIONALITY UNDER NEW GUIDANCE

Sat 16 August 2025:

Police in England and Wales will be encouraged to disclose the ethnicity and nationality of suspects charged in high-profile or sensitive cases

UK police forces could start disclosing the ethnicity and nationality of suspects charged in high-profile or sensitive cases under new guidance from the National Police Chiefs’ Council (NPCC).

According to the new rules, the move is aimed at countering misinformation and improving transparency in cases of significant public interest.

The NPCC said the decision to release details will remain with individual forces, who “must weigh legal and ethical considerations”.

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It added that verifying a suspect’s immigration status will not be the responsibility of the police, but of the Home Office, which can confirm information where appropriate.

The change comes after a series of incidents where the absence or release of such details has shaped public reaction.

In Warwickshire, two men reported to be Afghan asylum seekers were charged with the alleged rape of a 12-year-old.

In 2020, Merseyside Police moved quickly to confirm that a man who drove into football fans was white and British, quashing false claims of an Islamist “terrorist” motive.

But in the Southport murders case last year, the decision not to disclose information about convicted killer Axel Rudakubana’s background was followed by the spread of false claims that fuelled far-right riots in England and Northern Ireland last year.

Posts online had said far-right, anti-Muslim protesters would target a list of immigration centres, migrant support centres and specialist law firms, prompting many businesses to close early and some shops to board up windows.

Deputy Chief Constable Sam de Reya, the NPCC’s media lead, said the riots showed the “real-world consequences” of information police do or do not release and added that police processes were key “in an age of social media speculation”, where false information can travel rapidly.

The College of Policing, which sets professional standards, will update its media relations guidance later this year.

Chief Constable Sir Andy Marsh, the College’s chief executive, said the interim measures would “bring consistency” and allow details to be released for all ethnicities and nationalities when they meet the relevant criteria.

The Home Office welcomed the change, saying public trust required “transparency and consistency” from the authorities. It has also committed to authorising the release of relevant immigration information in future cases where requested by police, following consultation with the Crown Prosecution Service.

Before 2012, decisions on releasing such details were made case-by-case.

However, police became more cautious after the Leveson Inquiry into press ethics, with no explicit mention of ethnicity or nationality in the College’s media relations guidance – leading to inconsistencies between forces.

This article is republished from New Arab. Read the original article.