Politicians’ anti-immigrant rhetoric fuelled post-Brexit hate crime spike, United Nations says

UN’s Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination said it was ‘seriously concerned’ about British politicians’ rhetoric

Immediately after the referendum hate crimes surged by 42 per cent in England and Wales (EPA)

British politicians’ “divisive, anti-immigrant and xenophobic rhetoric” during the EU referendum campaign fuelled a surge in hate crimes immediately following the vote, a United Nations body has said.

BBC News reports that the UN’s Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination said it was “seriously concerned” that British politicians whipped up hatred and then “failed to condemn” racist abuse during the campaign.

Immediately following the referendum hate crimes surged by 42 per cent in England and Wales, with a total of 3,076 incidents recorded across the country between 16 and 30 June.

Many areas that voted strongly for Leave also posted even higher results, police figures obtained by The Independent showed.

"The committee remains concerned that despite the recent increase in the reporting of hate crimes, the problem of underreporting persists, and the gap between reported cases and successful prosecution remains significant,” the report added.

“As a result, a large number of racist hate crimes seem to go unpunished.”

The report’s authors are also concerned about “negative portrayal” of ethnic minority communities, immigrants, asylum-seekers and refugees in British media.

They also raised concerns about the possible repeal of the Human Rights Act, a policy confirmed by Justice Secretary Liz Truss earlier this week.

Ukip leader Nigel Farage was widely criticised for unveiling a poster with pictures of Syrian refugees alongside the caption the “breaking point”.

He was also criticised for saying the referendum campaign had been won “without a shot being fired” – despite the shooting of Labour MP Jo Cox.