Knife crime hit a new record in England and Wales in 2019, official figures have revealed.

The number of offences involving knives and sharp instruments rose by 7 per cent to 45,600 in the year.

However, the true figure is likely to be significantly higher, as the Office for National Statistics (ONS) did not include Greater Manchester Police’s total because of IT issues.

“Figures for the year ending December 2019 showed a 7 per cent rise in offences involving knives or sharp instruments recorded by the police in the last year,” said a report published on Thursday.

“This was 49 per cent higher than when comparable recording began in the year ending March 2011, and the highest on record.”

The makeshift shrines to Britain's knife crime victims Show all 18 1 /18 The makeshift shrines to Britain's knife crime victims The makeshift shrines to Britain's knife crime victims Purple ribbons are seen tied to a tree and fence at a park near to where 17-year-old Jodie Chesney was stabbed to death in an attack with no obvious motive, in the Harold Hill area of London. Chesney was stabbed in an unprovoked attack while out with friends on March 1, 2019. Four males aged 16, 17, 19 and 20 have been charged with her murder which all four deny. In honour of her favourite colour, purple ribbons were tied to a railing, alongside a message also written in purple: "Choose life, drop the knife! RIP Jodie. Reuters/Phil Noble The makeshift shrines to Britain's knife crime victims Floral tributes and bottles of alcohol are seen outside the house where 20-year-old Tyrelle Burke was stabbed to death, in the Wythenshawe area of Manchester. Burke was stabbed to death on April 5, outside his home by a friend following a night out. 18-year-old Denver Walton was charged with his murder. Reuters/Phil Noble The makeshift shrines to Britain's knife crime victims A woman walks past floral tributes near to where 29-year-old Joshua White was stabbed to death, in the Hackney area of London. Joshua White died after he was stabbed through the heart in broad daylight on April 26. Two teenagers have been charged with his murder, and police are attempting to extradite an 18-year-old from Ireland in relation to the attack. Reuters/Phil Noble The makeshift shrines to Britain's knife crime victims Floral tributes and photographs are left at the spot where 17-year-old Yousef Makki was stabbed to death, in Hale Barns. Makki was stabbed to death on March 2 during a row with another boy. A 17-year-old boy was cleared of his murder by a jury at Manchester Crown Court on July 12. Makki's family have protested against the verdict. Photography by Reuters The makeshift shrines to Britain's knife crime victims Floral tributes and packets of crisps and a chocolate bar are tied to a fence where 21-year-old James Halewood was stabbed to death, in the Kirkby area of Liverpool. Halewood was stabbed to death in broad daylight outside a parade of shops at lunchtime on July 7. Two men aged 26 and 23 have been arrested in connection with his death. Reuters/Phil Noble The makeshift shrines to Britain's knife crime victims Graffiti on a fence of an industrial unit near to where 18-year-old Hazrat Umar was killed, in the Bordesley Green area of Birmingham. Umar was killed after being stabbed 15 times in an unprovoked attack on February 25, on his way to the gym. Adam Muhammad, 17, a student at the same college, pleaded guilty and was sentenced to life imprisonment for his murder. Reuters/Phil Noble The makeshift shrines to Britain's knife crime victims Floral tributes are seen tied to a pedestrian crossing near to where 40-year-old Gavin Garraway was stabbed to death, in the Clapham area of London. Garroway was stabbed to death through the window of his car on March 29. Zion Chiata, 18, has been charged with his murder. Reuters/Phil Noble The makeshift shrines to Britain's knife crime victims Floral tributes and teddy bears are seen outside a house where 26-year-old Kelly-Mary Fauvrelle and her unborn baby where stabbed to death, in the Croydon area of London. Fauvrelle was stabbed to death in the bedroom of her home in the early hours of June 29. Her baby boy, Riley, was delivered but also died four days later. Ex-partner Aaron McKenzie has been charged with her murder and causing the death of the baby. Reuters/Phil Noble The makeshift shrines to Britain's knife crime victims Flowers are tied to the entrance of Sara Park near to where 16-year-old Abdullah Muhammad was killed in the Small Heath area of Birmingham. Abdullah died after suffering stab wounds to the chest and back in the evening of February 20. Three males aged 17, 19 and 20 have been charged in connection with his murder. Reuters/Phil Noble The makeshift shrines to Britain's knife crime victims The remains of candles and tributes are seen near to where 19-year-old Kamali Gabbidon-Lynck was stabbed to death, in the Wood Green area of London. Gabbidon-Lynck died after he was stabbed by a gang on bicycles on February 22, in an incident which left another man suffering from knife and gunshot wounds. Three men aged 18, 19 and 20 have been charged with murder, attempted murder and robbery. Reuters/Phil Noble The makeshift shrines to Britain's knife crime victims A woman pushes a pram past a row of houses where 33-year-old Charlotte Huggins was stabbed to death, in south London. Huggins was the first stabbing victim of 2019, stabbed in the back at her home in the early hours of New Year's Day. Her ex-boyfriend Michael Rolle was found guilty of her murder and jailed for life. He stabbed Huggins after she celebrated New Year's eve with a male friend. Reuters/Phil Noble The makeshift shrines to Britain's knife crime victims Floral tributes are left at the spot where 18-year-old Cheyon Evans was stabbed to death, in the Wandsworth area of London. Evans died from a stab wound to the chest after being attacked by a group of youths in broad daylight on June 14. Three males aged 18, 18 and 17 have been charged with his murder. Reuters/Phil Noble The makeshift shrines to Britain's knife crime victims Lanfrey Place is where 17-year-old Ayub Hassan died after suffering multiple stab wounds in the street, in the West Kensington area of London. Hassan was killed after his attack on March 7. A 15-year-old boy has been charged with his murder. Reuters/Phil Noble The makeshift shrines to Britain's knife crime victims Floral tributes are left near to where 21-year-old Lewis Bagshaw was stabbed to death, in the Southey area of Sheffield. Bagshaw collapsed and died on July 21, when seeking help from residents of Piper Crescent after suffering stab wounds. Police investigations into his death are ongoing. Reuters/Phil Noble The makeshift shrines to Britain's knife crime victims Flowers and toys are left at the scene where 19-year-old Lejean Richards was stabbed to death, in the Battersea area of London. Richards was attacked and fatally stabbed on February 5. Roy Reyes-Nieves, 23, and Roger Reyes-Nieves, 18, have been charges with his murder. Reuters/Phil Noble The makeshift shrines to Britain's knife crime victims A man walks past floral tributes left near to where 24-year-old Joe O'Brien died after being stabbed in a fight outside a pub, in Manchester. O'Brien died following a fight outside the Royal Oak pub on April 21. Momodou Jallow, 21, has been charged with his murder. Reuters/Phil Noble The makeshift shrines to Britain's knife crime victims Flowers are seen near to where 29-year-old Nathaniel Armstrong was stabbed to death, in the Fulham area of London. Armstrong was stabbed to death during an altercation on March 16. Murder charges against a 29-year-old male were dropped after prosecutors said there was no realistic prospect of conviction. Reuters/Phil Noble The makeshift shrines to Britain's knife crime victims A police officer stands outside a row of terraced houses where 33-year-old nurse Saima Riaz was stabbed to death, in Rochdale. Riaz, a mother of three, was found on April 23. 36-year-old Mohammed Abid Choudhry has been charged with her murder. Reuters/Phil Noble

Almost a third of all knife offences recorded in England and Wales were in London, and the ONS said they were “concentrated in metropolitan areas”.

In London, the number of fatal stabbings increased by 13 per cent in the year, although the figure fell by 8 per cent nationally.

The areas with the highest rate were London, West Yorkshire and the West Midlands, but while London saw a 5 per cent rise, offences in the West Midlands rocketed by 13 per cent and West Yorkshire fell by 9 per cent.

The offences included in the figures were homicide, attempted murder, threats to kill, assault with injury, assault with intent to cause serious harm, robbery, rape and sexual assault.

The ONS said an increase in robbery – which accounted for 44 per cent of knife offences – contributed to the historic rise, while assault was the largest category.

The number of possession of a bladed article offences rose by 11 per cent in the year, which the report said was influenced by increased police stop-and-search operations.

Nick Thomas-Symonds, the shadow home secretary, accused the Conservative Party of “failing communities on crime”.

“This has been the inevitable consequence of huge cuts to policing and the loss of 21,000 officers, and the cuts to the key services we rely on to prevent crime, such as youth clubs, mental health support and probation,“ the Labour MP added.

“The failure on crime shows again the devastating impact of austerity and why our country can’t afford to make the same mistakes when we emerge from the coronavirus crisis.”

The record could stand for a significant length of time as 2020 crime is affected by the coronavirus lockdown (AP)

Yvette Cooper, chair of the Home Affairs Select Committee, called for a “more comprehensive national strategy from the government” to prevent violence.

“As the committee has warned, the police have been too heavily overstretched for some years and we need more police officers,” she added. “But we also need a comprehensive prevention programme in place with leadership from the Home Office.”

A Home Office report released last month found that budget cuts to police contributed to the rising number of murders in Britain.

Boris Johnson pledged to recruit 20,000 extra police officers in three years – fewer than those lost since 2010 – but the scheme has been hampered by the coronavirus outbreak forcing the closure of training centres.

The Police Federation, which represents rank-and-file officers, said the investment would “still only bring us back to pre-2008 levels”.

“However, it will take time for the effects of this much needed investment to be felt and we can see the results in these figures,“ said its chairman, John Apter.

“It is a tragedy that knife crime continues to spiral as my colleagues are stretched to their limits, and with fewer officers on patrol it comes as no surprise that street crime such as robbery has increased.”

The knife crime record pre-dates the coronavirus lockdown, which will affect the next round of quarterly statistics covering January to March 2020.

In the month to 13 April, overall crime recorded by police across England and Wales dropped by 28 per cent compared with the same period in 2019.

Provisional data showed a 27 per cent drop in serious assaults and personal robbery, with residential burglary down 37 per cent and shoplifting halved.

In 2019, police recorded 5.8 million crimes in England and Wales in total.

The figures showed a 2 per cent increase in the number of homicides, although the figure includes the 39 Vietnamese people who were found dead in a lorry in Essex in October last year.

The separate Crime Survey of England and Wales, which records people’s personal experiences rather than what they report to police, showed a 12 per cent increase in robbery but a 7 per cent fall in burglary.

Joe Traynor, of the ONS Centre for Crime and Justice, said: “Information collected prior to the coronavirus pandemic from the Crime Survey for England and Wales estimates a fall of 5 per cent in crime for 2019. It is not possible to say whether this would have come to represent a change from the flat trend in recent years, as it is likely that the current lockdown will have an impact on the level of crime in 2020.”

The Home Office said the 5 per cent decrease in the survey figures was the “first significant fall since 2017”.

Priti Patel, the home secretary, said: “This is extremely encouraging and a positive step in the right direction, but I remain steadfast in ensuring the criminal minority do not get away with their crimes.