Labour has started hiding embarrassing statistics

Labour has started hiding embarrassing statistics pre the general election and the first one is a Home Office statistic. The Independent reveal that:

"The Government was accused last night of delaying the publication of potentially embarrassing crime figures until after the general election, in contravention of its own rules.

The Youth Justice Board (YJB) told The Independent that statistics showing the number of crimes committed by under-18s would not be published until the autumn, nearly six months later than the normal publication date. "

The Independent then reports the usual plausible, but incorrect, Labour government explanation:

"An official for the government agency said that the data was being delayed because of the looming election and the official "purdah" period, which prevents civil servants from releasing overtly party political information."

Before explaining why this is a lie:

"But official civil service rules state that "purdah" only begins when an election is called. Senior youth justice sources expressed surprise at the decision of the Government to use "purdah" as an excuse for a delay. They said the publication of crime statistics was not a political act and should not be covered by the "purdah" protocol. The Conservatives said that unless the information was published before the election, the public would be entitled to think that the Government had "something to hide"."

maybe this could be another line of attack for David Cameron at PMQs today.