MP calls for stop & search debate

Chuka Umunna MP has called for an urgent debate in Parliament on stop and search after it emerged that black people are 26 times more likely than white people to be stopped and searched by police.

Mr Umunna raised the issue with Leader of the House Sir George Young.in the House of Commons yesterday after recent research by the Open Society Justice Initiative and the London School of Economics, analysing Ministry of Justice statistics, found that there are 41.6 searches carried out by police under Section 60 for every 1000 black people and 1.6 for every 1000 white people. This was the widest ‘race gap’ which the research found internationally.

Mr Umunna said: “International research has been cited in The Observer showing that black people are 26 times more likely to be stopped and searched in England and Wales. The researchers said that that was the most glaring example of racial profiling that they had seen. That figure is shocking. “May we have an urgent debate on the matter, to discern whether the police in England and Wales are using their powers of stop and search appropriately?”

In reply, the Leader of the House promised to raise the issue with Home Secretary Theresa May and ask her to respond on the issue.

Mr Umunna is MP for Streatham, one of the three constituencies that includes the Brixton area.