According to The Centre for Social Justice, thousands more violent offenders will be created because a generation of ‘ghost children’ have given up on school after Covid forced multiple absences from the classroom.

They predict that up to 9,000 more young offenders and 2,000 violent criminals could be on UK streets in four years’ time because of a rise in school absences. Children with a history of school absence are considered to be around three times more likely to drawn into crime.

They calculate that the concomitant surge in crime could cost taxpayers £100mn.

Persistent absence from school has doubled since the pandemic began with an estimated 1.7mn pupils now missing at least 10% of school time. 125,000 skip school altogether. An increase in mental health problems and a culture of staying at home during lockdowns are thought to be the root of the problem.