The increase is thought to reflect both a genuine rise in hate crime around the time of the EU referendum and ongoing improvements in crime recording by the police.

Rising food prices made a large contribution to the change, with an increase of 0.8% between August and September 2017, compared to a 0.4% fall last year.

The Liberal Democrats have always advocated democratic reform of the House of the Lords. But the brutal truth is that this Government simply has no appetite for the fundamental reform which the House of Lords desperately needs.

Its findings show that under WTO rules, the average household would see price rises worth an extra £260 a year, while over three million families would see price rises of over £500 a year.

Vince Cable said:

“News of this massive write-down shows our economy is in real trouble. Jobs are being lost at major employers such as Vauxhall and BAE, the pound has already lost 20% of its value in a year, our balance of trade and productivity are poor, and we have fallen to the bottom of the growth league for major economies.