Rise in hate crime reported to Metropolitan Police since Brexit vote

Britain's largest police force has revealed that it has seen a rise in reported hate crimes since the EU referendum.

Figures show 599 incidents of race hate crime were reported to Scotland Yard between Friday June 24 - the day the result was announced - and Saturday July 2.

It means the Metropolitan Police was receiving an average of 67 allegations a day in the wake of the poll - a rise of more than 50% compared to the typical daily number of 44 prior to June 24.

Commander Mak Chishty, who leads on community engagement for the UK’s Met, said: "We can report there has been an increase in hate crime offences since the UK EU referendum.

"On any given day there are between 25 and 50 racial incidents in London and the MPS has been monitoring reported incidents of hate crime closely in light of recent events."

He added: "So far, between Friday 24 June and Saturday 2 July we have seen 599 incidents of race hate crime reported to the Met.

"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, he said.

Mr Chishty added that police recognise that people "are feeling anxious at the perception of increased intolerance against certain communities".