‘Result being used as a sham to express hatred’ says Archbishop of Canterbury

People are using the EU referendum result as a “mere sham for their hatred to be expressed”, said the Archbishop of Canterbury amid fears of a rise in the number of hate-related incidents in wake of the vote.

Justin Welby condemned “hate-filled attacks” and said those involved were using division as an excuse of prejudice.

Since Thursday’s vote, a number of race and hate- related incidents have been investigated by police and the National Police Chiefs’ Council (NPCC) said there had been a sharp increase in reports to an online crime reporting site.

Graduate Natasha Bandlish, 21, from Dulwich, south east London was left “flabbergasted” after a group of construction workers stared at her on the train whilst shouting about British independence. She told the Press Association: “[I’ve] never really experienced blatant racism. “I was especially surprised that I experienced it in London.”

A German woman who has lived in the UK since 1973 told LBC she was “frightened” after suffering a series of xenophobic attacks in the wake of last week’s vote.

Crying on the phone, she said: “I’m so scared now. I’ve got dog turd thrown at my door. I haven’t been out of the house for days.”

The NPCC said there were 85 reports made to True Vision, an online hate crime reporting site, between Thursday and Sunday — a rise of 57% compared to the 54 made on the corresponding four days four weeks ago.

In Manchester, officers are investigating a suspected hate crime after a video surfaced online of three youths telling a man to “Get back to Africa” aboard a tram.