Police predict rise in hate crime as Brexit approaches

Police have said there could be a spike in hate crime as wrangles over Brexit continue before the UK’s planned departure from the EU in March.

The vote to leave the EU in June 2016 led to a large rise in hate incidents on the streets and online.

Supt Waheed Khan, Scotland Yard’s deputy head of hate crime, said: “If we look at what happened in the Brexit referendum then come March we would expect some kind of response at that time in the attacks that take place. We will do what we can to prevent an upturn.”

Figures released this week showed a 17% rise in hate crimes recorded by the police in England and Wales, to 94,098 in the 12 months to March. The annual total has grown by 123% since 2012–13. While better recording is a factor, Brexit as well as terrorist attacks in 2017 are thought to have contributed to the increase.

Iman Atta, director at Tell Mama, which combats anti-Muslim hate crime, said her group had seen evidence that perpetrators were getting younger, with half aged under 25.

While online hate speech was a big problem, 70% of cases her group dealt with related to street-based abuse and violence. “Many of the attacks are in public spaces and public transport,” she said.

Atta said that after the referendum there was rise in abuse directed at people perceived to be Muslim. These included Sikhs but also, in one case, a white, blonde woman who was called a “terrorist” after emerging from a salon and putting on a headscarf to protect her hair from the rain.

Tony Forsyth, the Met’s head of hate crime, said he believed half of all hate crimes were not reported to police. He said victims “minimalise” what happened to them if the hate was online, where people sometimes did not realise what they have encountered was a crime. “This is actual real crime that affects people’s lives,” he said.