Iain Duncan Smith, the former Conservative leader, claims that racial disparity in the use of stop and search is a myth

A dramatic increase in the use of police stop-and-search powers to combat rising gang violence has been called for by Iain Duncan Smith, the former Conservative leader.

A 148-page report by the MP’s think tank calls for a US-style “zero-tolerance” crackdown on criminals.

It accuses senior officers of all but abandoning “active policing” for fear of being accused of institutional racism and says “racial disparity” is a myth, despite moves to slash the use of stop-and-search powers over fears they were being used disproportionately against black people and other minorities.

The report by the Centre for Social Justice (CSJ), entitled It Can Be Stopped, comes amid a sharp rise in knife and gun crime and after police opened the 100th inquiry into a violent