People from black and ethnic minority groups are more than twice as likely to be stopped and searched by police in Islington than white people.

Cllr Paul Convery, executive member for community safety, made the admission at last night’s town hall meeting of the council.

He was questioned on the issue by Green Party equalities spokesman Benali Hamdache, and said: “Data shows us that typically, black and ethnic minority groups are two-and-a-half times more likely to be stopped and searched.

“There are a number of complex reasons behind that, and it is a disproportionate figure.”

But Cllr Convery added: “It’s also substantially lower in this borough than the majority of others in London, and that’s a credit to the police here.”

Mayor of London Boris Johnson told the Gazette last week that he supported “sensitive” stop and searches to combat knife crime.