Home Secretary John Reid was facing further detailed questioning about his department's performance with the publication today of new crime figures.

The quarterly figures for England and Wales from July to September last year will reveal whether the number of robberies has continued to spiral.

If the figures are poor, Mr Reid will be in the difficult position of having to explain why he has asked the judiciary to stop sending criminals to jail when crime is on the rise.

He and other Cabinet ministers wrote to judges and magistrates yesterday asking them to send only the most dangerous and persistent offenders to jail.