Shadow home secretary says the immigration status of suspects MUST be made public in court to stop misinformation spreading online
Courts and prosecutors should reveal how a defendant entered Britain to stop lies spreading online, according to Chris Philp.
His intervention comes amid heated protests outside The Bell Hotel in Epping, Essex, which houses migrants, and the false claim that the Southport killer was an asylum seeker, which sparked race riots last summer.
Mr Philp said: 'The Home Office and the Crown Prosecution Service should not be refusing to release details on the immigration status of dangerous perpetrators – the public deserve to know the truth and they need to be protected from foreign criminals.'
Alp Mehmet, chairman of Migration Watch UK, added: 'The courts should be required by law to publish, in real time, the nationality and immigration status of those who come before them.
'Speculation and distortion would stop, preventing sensitive situations from getting out of control.'
The Ministry of Justice has now confirmed the potential release of further information about foreign national offenders (FNOs) will be considered as part of a review.
Online misinformation about the Southport triple-murderer Axel Rudakubana, 18, being a Muslim asylum seeker ignited nationwide rioting last summer.
It was later revealed that Rudakubana was born in Cardiff to Christian parents who migrated to the UK from Rwanda.
An MoJ spokesman said: 'The Lord Chancellor, Shabana Mahmood, has asked civil servants to review what can be published on FNOs to increase transparency on this important issue.'
A Home Office spokesman said: 'It is our long-standing policy not to comment on individual cases. FNOs who abuse our hospitality by committing crimes will face the full force of the law, including deportation.'
Earlier this month, a Mail on Sunday investigation revealed that more than 300 asylum seekers living at 70 hotels had been charged with 708 criminal offences, as serious as rape, over the past three years.
While the nationality of the accused is sometimes shown in court documents when they ask for an interpreter, the immigration status is not disclosed.
Violent protests broke out at The Bell Hotel this month after an Ethiopian asylum seeker was charged with sexual assault, which he denies.
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