A Home Office spokesperson has admitted that knife crime statistics published in December were not checked by statisticians before being released.

The fact sheet has already been criticised by the UK Statistics Authority for its “selective or otherwise in appropriate comparisons”, “inappropriate conclusions” and “unsubstantiated claims.”

The BBC’s Mark Easton has blogged about the Government’s confused account of how the statistics came to be released:

“This afternoon, cabinet office Minister Kevin Brennan told committee of MPs that “the statistics produced within the Home Office on that fact sheet were approved by statisticians in the Home Office before publication”.

“Startled by a suggestion made by the committee chair… that the stats guys had done no such thing, a flustered Mr Brennan replied: “That is the information I have, but if that is incorrect, Chair, I’ll correct the record”.

“A few hours later and my phone rings. It is a man from the Home Office. Did the statisticians know? “The answer is no”, he replied.

“”They were aware that statistics were being assembled, but saw nothing of the final product”, he told me. “They did not see that fact sheet before it was published.”

“And that wasn’t all he wanted to convey. The press office didn’t sign off the fact sheet either.”

It remains to be seen who was pushing for the release of the fact sheet.

As Sir Michael Scholar, chair of the UK Statistics Authority told the Public Administration Select Committee this week:

“I think if you are going to have trust in official statistics, you can’t have statisticians being leaned upon by politicians, by ministers or advisers or policy civil servants who are working for them.”