More than half the homicide victims in London last year were black or members of other minority ethnic groups, according to data from the Metropolitan Police Service.

These groups, which made up just 29 per cent of London’s population in the 2001 census, accounted for 51 per cent of the city’s murder victims in 2007. Furthermore, a substantial proportion of white murder victims – precise numbers are not available – were recent immigrants from eastern and central Europe and the Balkans.