The number of killings in England and Wales has hit a ten-year high, according to new figures.
In the 12 months to June this year, there were 719 murder and manslaughter cases, up 14 per cent on 630 for the previous period.
The figures excluded deaths from major incidents such as the terrorist attacks in Manchester and London.
Crimes involving knives or sharp instruments shot up 12 per cent to a record high, with more than 39,000 offences recorded.
That total could be even higher as figures from Greater Manchester Police were excluded from the data after a review found it was undercounting offences.
Police figures, collated by the Office for National Statistics (ONS), also showed increases in other categories, including:
- Robberies up 22 per cent.
- Sexual offences up 18 per cent.
- Vehicle crime up seven per cent.
- Burglaries up two per cent.
The figures for murder and manslaughter are the highest since 2008, when there were 775 killings.
Crime rose by nine per cent in total across England and Wales, with 5.6 million offences committed.
Other figures released by the Home Office showed that less than nine per cent of those recorded offences resulted in suspects being charged.
The investigation was closed without a suspect being identified in almost 50 per cent of cases.
More than 20,000 police jobs have been cut in recent years and opposition politicians say this is the root cause of the increases.
Shadow Home Secretary Diane Abbott said: “You can’t keep the public safe on the cheap.”
She called for an immediate end to cuts in police budgets across England and Wales.
Police Minister Nick Hurd, said “decisive action” was being taken to tackle the increase
He added: “To combat serious violence our strategy addresses the root causes of crime with a focus on early intervention.
“We are consulting on a public health approach to serious violence and giving police extra powers to tackle knife crime through our offensive weapons bill.”
Joe Traynor, of the ONS crime and justice centre, said: “The latest figures show no change in the total level of crime but variation by crime types.”
