Figures from the Mayor’s Office for Policing and Crime reveal that the number of Islamophobic hate crimes in London has soared by almost 40% in the past year[1], but Scotland Yard has warned that the figures do not show the full extent of hate crimes in the capital because many go unreported[2].
There were 1,678 reported anti-Muslim hate crimes in capital in the year up to January 2018, up from 1,205 the previous year[3]. The rise has been attributed to the 2017 terror attacks on London Bridge and the Manchester Arena, and perhaps partially to an increase in confidence in reporting hate crimes[4]. A previous spike in hate crimes occurred in 2016 after Britain voted to leave the EU[5].
The Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan, warned that a “zero-tolerance” approach would be taken towards hate crime, but Imam Atta, director of Tell MAMA, a campaign group combatting Islamophobia, said that the attacks had already “created a heightened sense of tension in Muslim communities”[6].
Earlier this month, Baroness Warsi, a former Conservative Minister, said that “Islamophobia is Britain’s bigotry blindspot” and has been becoming an increasing problem over previous years[7].
[1] De Peyer, 2018.
[2] De Peyer, 2018; Gerresten, 2018.
[3] De Peyer, 2018.
[4] De Peyer, 2018.
[5] De Peyer, 2018.
[6] De Peyer, 2018.
[7] Gerresten, 2018.
Sources
De Peyer, R. (2018) ‘Revealed: Anti-Muslim hate crimes in London soared by 40% in a year’. [online] 26th February. https://www.standard.co.uk/news/crime/revealed-antimuslim-hate-crimes-in-london-soared-by-40-in-a-year-a3775751.html. [Accessed 27 February 2018].
Gerresten, I. (2018) ‘40% rise in Islamophobic hate crimes in London linked to terror attacks’. [online] 26th February. http://www.ibtimes.co.uk/40-rise-islamophobic-hate-crimes-london-linked-terror-attacks-1663932. [Accessed 27 February 2018].
