Hate crimes in London increase by 52% since referendum vote

Figures released today by London’s Metropolitan Police show that the number of hate crimes reported in London has risen by 52% in the week following the referendum result.

An average of 67 hate crimes are now being reported every day in the capital city alone, compared to an average of 44 a day before the referendum. Between 24 June (the day the result was out) and 2 July, 599 incidents of race hate crime were reported to the Metropolitan Police.

Commander Mark Chishty, the Metropolitan Police head of community engagement, said people are “feeling anxious at the perception of increased intolerance against certain communities”.

He said: “We are carefully analysing every incident to see what is happening across London and these figures may change as victims come forward and report incidents after the event. The vast majority of these incidents involve abusive and offensive language. I would strongly urge both victims and witnesses to come forward and report any such incidents to police as soon as possible.”

The daily average of hate crimes reported to the police rose steadily over the year leading up to the referendum itself. Before 24 June 2015, an average of 40 hate crimes a day were reported to police, but that daily average rose to 44 over the course of the year until the vote.

Meanwhile, the Archbishop of Canterbury, Justin Welby, has spoken out against the growing intolerance and hatred in the days following the EU referendum result.

He said: “Since the referendum, we have seen an out-welling of poison and hatred that I cannot remember in this country for very many years.”

Figures released by the police outside the capital have shown an increase in hate crime incidents, after the referendum, right across the country. Avon and Somerset police have said that 10 incidents were being reported every day after the referendum, compared to four before the vote.

The National Police Chiefs’ Council has said that True Vision, a national police-funded portal for reporting hate crime, received a fivefold increase in reports – 331 incidents – between 23 June and 29 June.