Reported hate crimes surged around Brexit vote: UK police
More than 3,000 incidents were reported to police across Britain between June 16 and 30, up 42 percent on the same period last year.
London: British police on Friday reported a sharp increase in hate crimes in the weeks before and after the June 23 EU referendum, which was dominated by a divisive debate about immigration.
More than 3,000 incidents were reported to police across Britain between June 16 and 30, up 42 percent on the same period last year, according to the National Police Chiefs' Council.
"We now have a clear indication of the increases in the reporting of hate crime nationally and can see that there has been a sharp rise in recent weeks. This is unacceptable and it undermines the diversity and tolerance we should instead be celebrating," said Mark Hamilton, the council's lead officer on hate crime.
Anti-racism campaigners had previously reported a surge in attacks, from verbal abuse to physical abuse, in the days after Britain's vote to leave the EU.
Prime Minister David Cameron raised the issue in parliament, citing "despicable" graffiti daubed on a Polish community centre and abuse directed at members of ethnic minorities.
"We will not stand for hate crime or these kinds of attacks, they must be stamped out," he told lawmakers.
Hamilton said there was a peak in offences on June 25, the day after the referendum result was announced, when there were 289 incidents. The numbers have since declined.
He attributed part of the increase since last year to greater vigilance by police, and greater awareness among the public. The most common of the 3,076 offences reported was harassment, whether common assault, verbal abuse or spitting.
The numbers were announced the day after envelopes including messages of abuse and white powder were sent to several London mosques and a member of the House of Lords.
Parts of the Houses of Parliament were locked down after a Muslim peer, Nazir Ahmed, received one letter. As in other incidents, the powder proved harmless but he told AFP it had been "frightening".
The Noor Ul Islam mosque in Leyton, in the east of the capital, said in a statement that it had been targeted and so had others. The Evening Standard newspaper cited the Masjid Ayesha mosque in Tottenham and the Muslim Welfare House in Finsbury Park, both in north London.