UK 'has worst violent crime rate in Europe'

Britain has a higher violent crime rate than the US and any country in Europe, according to the Conservative Party.

Analysis carried out by the Tories on crime figures released by the European Commission also revealed that Britain has the second overall crime rate after Sweden.

The country's murder rate of 1.49 for every 100,000 people ranks it in 13th place, higher than France, Spain and Italy.

Lithuania, Estonia and Latvia have the highest homicide rates in the European Union.

Shadow home secretary Chris Grayling said: "This is a real damning indictment of this Government's comprehensive failure over more than a decade to tackle the deep-rooted social problems in our society, and the knock-on effect on crime and anti-social behaviour."

All rankings were based on the number of crimes committed per 100,000 people, calculated on a three-year average from 2005 to 2007.

Britain had the fifth highest robbery rate in the European Union after Belgium, Spain, France and Portugal, with 164 robberies committed per 100,000 people.

Figures on burglary place the country in fourth, behind Belgium, Denmark and the Netherlands, but with 304,881 burglaries committed overall, Britain recorded by far the highest number in 2007.

Mr Grayling said: "We're now on our fourth home secretary in this parliament, and all we are getting is a rehash of old initiatives that didn't work the first time round. More than ever, Britain needs a change of direction."