CAMPAIGNERS called for an inquiry today after research revealed that more than nine out of 10 victims of unsolved murder crimes belong to ethnic minorities.

Analysis of unsolved homicides in London between 2019 and 2023 showed that non-white people represent 92.9 per cent of all unsolved murder victims.

The research by Action on Armed Violence also showed that black people represented 73 per cent of all unsolved murder cases during that period. 

Black Activists Rising Against Cuts UK national chair Zita Holbourne said: “The police claim it is down to low trust among black communities in the police.

“This is only part of the story. The trust is not there because of institutional racism and because black people are not safe when it comes to policing.”

She blamed disproportionate stop-and-search conduct and deaths in custody, urging the police to address the address the root causes of their racism.

“There needs to be an inquiry into these unsolved cases.

“Behind the numbers and stats are human beings and families or loved ones left in limbo, unable to move forward, waiting for answers, waiting to grieve. They need to be reviewed, reopened and every effort made to solve them,” she said. 

The Metropolitan Police, London’s force, said that the racial disparity is due in part to black people having lower trust in the police, which the force says it is trying to improve.

The Met’s head of homicide, Commander Paul Brogden, told the Guardian: “We know serious violence disproportionately affects certain communities, particularly young black men, who have the lowest trust in policing.

“This means, sadly, victims or witnesses are less likely to come forward and trust us.”