The number of homophobic attacks reported to police leapt by nearly a quarter last year, Home Office figures have revealed.

Forces in England and Wales recorded 5,597 hate crimes against gays and lesbians in 2014-15, a rise of 22 per cent on the previous 12 months. The spike in violence and abuse based on victims’ sexual orientation emerged in statistics revealing a continued rise in offences which are classified as “hate crimes”.

Although some of the increase could be explained by victims being more willing to come forward, David Cameron described the latest figures as unacceptable and said more needed to be done to fight hate crime. Read More via the Independent