Rise in racist incidents linked to Brexit vote

Over 100 incidents of racial abuse and hate crimes, including alleged racist graffiti and cards reading “no more Polish vermin” posted outside a school, have been reported since the UK voted to leave the EU, it emerged on Monday.

Scotland Yard was called in to inspect suspected racist graffiti found on the front entrance of the Polish Social and Cultural Association (POSK) in London on Sunday.

“We are investigating the racially motivated criminal damage on a building,” the metropolitan police said, urging any witnesses to come forward.

Cambridgeshire Constabulary was also investigating racism reports around laminated signs calling on people to leave the UK being posted through the doors of members of the Polish community in Huntingdon in the east of England.

“The production and distribution of this and any other similar material is committing the crime of inciting racial hatred,” detective superintendent Martin Brunning of the Constabulary said.

According to reports from the Cambridge News, a number of cards saying “Leave the EU/No more Polish vermin” in both English and Polish were found outside St.Peter’s school.

Meanwhile, two men were arrested in Birmingham after a protest outside a mosque on Saturday where police confiscated a banner with the slogan “rapefugees not welcome”.

Officers were also investigating reports from Upton Park, east London, where a witness said that he went to the aid of a Polish man and his father who were beaten up on Saturday night.

Prime Minister David Cameron on Monday said the government “will not tolerate intolerance” after a series of racist incidents were reported following Britain’s decision to leave the European Union.

“We should be absolutely clear that this government will not tolerate intolerance... intimidating migrants, telling them they need to go home,” he told journalists.

“In the past few days we have seen despicable graffiti daubed on a Polish community centre, we’ve seen verbal abuse hurled against individuals because they are members of ethnic minorities,” Mr Cameron said. “We will not stand for hate crime or these kinds of attacks. They must be stamped out,” he added.

The Polish embassy in London earlier said it was “shocked and deeply concerned” by incidents of abuse directed at the Polish community.

“This is an outrageous act that disgusts not only me and the Polish community but everyone in Hammersmith & Fulham,” local legislator Andy Slaughter said on Twitter.

London mayor Sadiq Khan on Monday placed the city’s police force on alert following the incidents. Mr Khan said he took “seriously my responsibility to defend London’s fantastic mix of diversity and tolerance.

“I’ve asked our police to be extra vigilant for any rise in cases of hate crime, and I’m calling on all Londoners to pull toge-ther and rally behind this great city. It’s also crucial that we don’t dem-onise the 1.5 million people in London who voted for Brexit,” he said.

Anti-racism group Far Right Watch said they had recorded over 90 incidents in the last three days. Islamic groups said there had been a sharp rise in incidents against Muslims since last Friday.