by Rob Bates, The Critic
Finally, there is space for rational debate on the consequences of mass migration
It was not preached to the crowd, but nonetheless Brits have joined the dots: the link between mass migration and a spike in crime, especially sex attacks, has entered the public consciousness.
Ministry of Justice data for England and Wales shows that a quarter of rape convictions last year were of foreign nationals. They account for just a tenth of the population but up to a third of sexual assault convictions. Many more convictions — of migrants now classed as British citizens — will be hidden within native conviction numbers.
Some politicians have picked up this mantle — raising alarm about the fact that Afghans are 22 times more likely to be convicted of sexual offences than Brits, or that 40 per cent of sexual offence charges in London are tabled against foreign nationals.
But rather than report these facts, the established media has adopted a rearguard position — desperately pleading with the public to ignore the mounting evidence. As this issue continues to grow in salience, we should be concerned that traditional media outlets are about to embark on a campaign of mass obscurantism.
Take Sky News’ recent “fact check” on migrant crime data, in which they looked to downplay the representation of foreign nationals in crime data. The whole thing was methodological nonsense — based on quotes that were misattributed to university academics, and advice from the ONS that was no such thing. According to the ONS, they have no record of giving Sky News any analytical “recommendation” akin to what was claimed. Corrections have been requested from impartial academics, and if Ofcom is anything more than an impotent legacy of the Blairite quangocracy then it will act.
Read also: Why demographic change matters by Laurie Wastell