The number of homophobic hate crimes in London have increased by almost a fifth over the last year, according to the latest police figures.

1,192 homophobic offences were recorded in September 2008 – September 2009, compared with 1,008 in the previous year.

A spokesperson for the Metropolitan police service said that the increase was due to more reporting of hate crime, rather than an increase in the number of hate crimes taking place.

“We remain concerned that there is under-reporting of homophobic and transphobic offences, but the rise shows we are moving in the right direction,” said the spokesperson.

“We’ve got no evidence that that has changed,” countered Stonewall’s chief executive Ben Summerskill. “The easy answer from the police and other agencies they work with is ‘Reporting has gone up. Isn’t this wonderful? Gay people now feel happy about reporting crimes.’ But I’m genuinely not sure it’s as easy as that.”

Last week 62-year-old Ian Baynham died from injuries sustained in attacked three weeks ago in Trafalgar Square. Three teenagers were arrested for his murder after witnesses saw them punching and kicking Baynham and shouting homophobic abuse.

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