Aide 'forced knife crime data out'

The unnamed special adviser was "adamant" the numbers should be released, despite objections from the chief statistician at the NHS, the Public Administration Select Committee heard.

The unchecked raw data, which appeared to show a fall in the number of youngsters being treated in hospital for stab wounds, was put out by the Home Office in December, in a blaze of publicity about the Government's crackdown on knife crime.

The release of the information was later condemned by the statistics watchdog, Sir Michael Scholar, as "premature, irregular and selective".

Sir Michael, who chairs the UK Statistics Authority, and National Statistician Karen Dunnell, were questioned by MPs on how they learnt of the row and their response. He said there was clearly "political interference" in the release of the data, but said he had no evidence ministers or senior civil servants were involved.

He said: "What I saw simply was...that a special adviser at No 10 had said that No 10 wished to publish these numbers and that then I saw what the chief statistician at the NHS said about that. And I saw that No10 were reported as being adamant that the figures should be published and of course the figures were published."

He told the MPs it was important for statisticians to be able to produce numbers in a "professional, objective and impartial way" without being "leaned upon".

Ms Dunnell said she learnt of the row late in the evening of December 10, the day before the figures were published. But she said her intervention in the row came too late because they had already been handed to the media.

Meanwhile, Home Secretary Jacqui Smith has launched a new crackdown on the sale of knives to youngsters. More than 20 retailers have agreed to the campaign, which will involve new signs warning that proof of age will be required if the buyer appears to be under 18.

The Home Secretary said she wanted to see the scheme "wherever knives are being sold" and added that it was just one of a number of measures being used to tackle knife crime across the UK. She also announced a new attempt to prevent gang-related violence by using injunctions, a measure previously blocked by the courts.