Asian people are twice as likely to be stabbed or “bottled” to death as they were a decade ago, according to Home Office figures released under the Freedom of Information Act.

The statistics, until now unpublished, reveal that the proportion of Asians – particularly those from the Indian sub-continent – among those killed “by sharp instruments” has risen from 4.5 per cent to 8.5 per cent.

An alarming surge in such killings happened around the time of the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, The Times can disclose.

Although the overall number of killings using knives and other sharp instruments has remained stable at about 200 a year, the racial breakdown of those being attacked has altered significantly.

The proportion of blacks fatally stabbed or bottled increased from 7.5 per cent to 11.8 per cent. By contrast, the proportion of whites fell from 84 per cent to 73.6 per cent. The turnaround happened between 1997 and 2005-06.

Experts believe that homicide figures are the most reliable indicator of the underlying rate of violence because, unlike other crimes, nearly every killing is reported.

An unexplained and troubling surge in Asians being killed with sharp instruments happened between April 2001 and March 2002. Such killings doubled to 30 in a single year, then fell to their previous level.

The rise in Islamophobia in Britain after 9/11 was charted in a report by the European Monitoring Centre on Racism and Xenophobia.

Researchers found increased attacks, including violent assault, verbal abuse, damage to property, Muslim women being spat on and and mosques firebombed.

Racial tensions in England had already been worsening in the run-up to 9/11 as Asian youths rioted in northern mill towns. Chris Allen, of Birmingham University, a co-author of the EU report, said that the antiMuslim climate was a likely factor in the sudden surge in fatal stabbings. He said that the far Right had started targeting Muslims after realising that, unlike black and Jewish people, they lack protection under race relations laws. Communal tensions worsened after 9/11, with Hindus and Sikhs in Manchester and Birmingham turning angrily on Muslims.

Richard Garside, director of the Centre for Crime and Justice Studies at King’s College London, said that the decade-long increase in killings of Asians was striking.

“This long-term rise might be indicative of something more sinister in terms of racially motivated attacks,” Mr Garside said.

Poverty, growing numbers of young Asians and an emerging gang culture were also blamed.

Research has shown that people living in poorer areas are at greatest risk of being killed by a sharp instrument.

The Commission for Racial Equality said: “It is a sad reflection in today’s society that 70 per cent of people from ethnic minority communities live in 88 of the most deprived wards in England.

“This is obviously one of the reasons why there is so much knife crime against ethnic minorities.

“As an Asian person in England and Wales you are twice as likely to be stabbed to death. As a black person, this figure increases to six times.

“If the proportion of white people being stabbed to death on our streets was anywhere near that of ethnic minorities, the whole country would be up in arms.”

Alf Hitchcock, of the Association of Chief Police Officers, said that people committing robberies using knives tended to be teenagers, and there had been a growth in ethnic minority offenders.

“People carrying knives were more likely to be stabbed themselves, he said.

An Asian gang culture had also emerged. “Within London we have had some very serious knife attacks involving Sri Lankan Tamil gangs,” Mr Hitchcock, Deputy Assistant Commissioner of the Metropolitan Police, said.

The Home Office dismissed Islamophobia as a cause. “The details surrounding these homicides tell us that there is nothing to support the suggestion that the rise in 2001-02 had anything to do with 9/11,” a spokesman claimed.

“In two thirds of the homicides the suspects were Asian too, and most involved domestic or local disputes.

“In the descriptions of cases, there is no mention of 9/11 or any related topic whatsoever. Only one of the homicides was known to be racially motivated.”

Experts were unimpressed, pointing out that Islam was not a racial category, that nonMuslim Asians could be Islamophobic and noting that the Government referred only to suspects rather than killers.

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