Jack Dromey MP, Labour’s Shadow Minister for Policing, commenting on reports in The Times newspaper that many online crimes are not investigated by police, said:

“The Tory Government are finally acknowledging the true scale of fraud and cybercrime in the UK, with three million internet crimes to be added to official national crime statistics. This will see an increase in overall crime of 40%.

“Experts are right to say that these rapidly growing crimes can be more costly, upsetting and difficult to investigate than ‘conventional’ crimes like robbery. However, less than 1% of these crimes result in a conviction. Theresa May has failed to tackle this rapidly growing area of crime.

“The Tories have slashed police officers by 17,000, with 22,000 more likely to go over the next five years. The police are overstretched and simply do not have the resources required to help victims get justice. In addition, the Banks and the Finance Sector have yet adequately to rise to the challenge of protecting their customers.

“In an era when you are more likely to be mugged online than in the street, more and more cybercriminals will get off scot-free unless the Tories stop slashing the police service.”