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Brexit fanning the flames of hate crimes in UK

Monday, 01 August 2016 12:17 PM [ Last Update: Monday, 01 August 2016 12:19 PM ]

File photo of an anti-immigration protester in a far-right rally (Independent)

Police statistics show hate crimes against immigrants have surged in areas that voted for Brexit, even tripling in some Eurosceptic parts of Britain, according to an investigation by British newspaper, The Independent.

The Independent says that data collected directly from local police reveal consistent doubling and tripling of hate crimes in the most anti-EU parts of the UK.

Racist incidents flourished in the wake of the vote to quit the 28-nation bloc. Police have said that reported hate crimes dramatically rose nationwide by 57 percent on average in the aftermath of the June 23 referendum.

However, new figures released under the freedom of information rules show that hate crimes significantly increased in the UK’s strongest Leave regions, surpassing the average figure given above.

The English county Lincolnshire was home to the country’s highest Leave vote, with 75 percent of people opting out. Police data show there was a whopping 191 percent rise in hate crimes in the county compared to last year, which has been attributed to the Brexit vote.

The pattern was also seen in other Brexit strongholds. For example, the Southeastern county of Kent, which saw a Leave vote of nearly 60 percent, saw an increase in reported hate crimes that was up by a massive 143 percent in the wake of the EU vote.

Although most crimes reported were of a verbal nature, dozens included racially or religiously motivated assaults. Other notable crimes that were recorded included arson, threats to kill and possession of a bladed weapon.

Muslims living in Britain have also suffered an increase in hate crimes amid Brexit. According to statistics by Metropolitan Police, Muslims in London faced a 70-percent increase in Islamophobic attacks in one year.

In the June 23 referendum, about 52 percent of British voters opted to leave the EU, while roughly 48 percent of the people voted to stay.

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