London: Domestic violence cost the British government 25.3 billion pounds in 2005-06, a parliamentary report has said, even as an influential Muslim group admitted the linked issue of forced marriages among Asians had reached a crisis point.

The British parliament's Home Affairs Select Committee, headed by ethnic Indian MP Keith Vaz, said in a report published Thursday that the real cost of domestic violence - in expenses incurred on public services, losses to the economy and costs to the victims - were likely to be higher than the 25.3 billion pounds incurred in 2005-06.

This was because not all crimes are reported to police.

Some of the domestic violence is directly linked to the practice of 'honour (izzat) violence' that is said to be widespread among some Asian communities in Britain, including Pakistani and Bangladeshi Muslims and Indian-origin Sikhs.

The report said the number of those who die in 'honour killings' every year may be far higher than the 12 estimated by the British home ministry.

The report also highlighted another related practice, where young Asian women and men are forced into marrying a stranger from the country of their origin.