Skip to content
Search

Latest Stories

Hate crimes in schools doubled during Brexit campaign

Reports of hate crimes across schools in England almost doubled during the Brexit referendum campaign last year, according to a new report released on Saturday (6).

Figures obtained by the Times Educational Supplement(TES) as part of Freedom of Information requests shows that in the three months surrounding the 23 June vote — May, June and July last year — 30 of England's police forces recorded a 54 per cent increase in reported hate crimes and incidents in schools.


There was an 89 per cent rise in police reports of hate crime in May 2016, the month before the referendum was held, compared to the same month the previous year.

During the period last year that covered the vote in favour of Britain's exit from the European Union (EU) and the US presidential election, there was a 48 per cent increase in reported hate crimes and incidents in schools, the figures show.

Stand Up to Racism group said: "Recent figures showing a spike in reported hate crime in school during the referendum campaign is a cause for massive concern".

"The referendum campaign was marred by a toxic and negative debate around immigration which a small minority have taken as a green light to commit racist attacks and hate crimes," it said.

The National Police Chiefs' Council (NPCC) said the numbers were "far too high", particularly when concentrated among young people.

Assistant chief constable Mark Hamilton, the NPCC's lead for hate crime, said: "We know that national and global events have the potential to trigger short-terms rises in hate crime and we saw this following the EU Referendum last year.

"Police forces took a robust approach to these crimes and reporting returned to previously seen levels. Clearly any hate crime is unacceptable and these numbers are still far too high."

"We have increased the central reporting and monitoring functions to enable us to recognise spikes earlier. This will be used to assess any threats that may arise and inform local police activity," Hamilton said.

"Particularly among young people, this kind of abuse undermines the diversity and tolerance that we should be celebrating," he said.

More For You

Liz Kendall

Work and pensions secretary Liz Kendall will outline welfare reforms in a green paper next week, followed by chancellor Rachel Reeves’ Spring Statement on 26 March.

Ministers may drop plan to freeze disability benefits: Report

MINISTERS are considering dropping plans to freeze Personal Independence Payments (PIP) for a year, according to a report.

Initial proposals suggested PIP would not rise in line with inflation, but strong opposition from Labour MPs has prompted a review.

Keep ReadingShow less
BBC settles age and sex discrimination case
BBC headquarters in Central London.
Getty Images

BBC settles age and sex discrimination case

THE BBC on Friday (14) said it had settled a case with four female journalists who claimed they lost their jobs because of their sex and age.

Martine Croxall, Annita McVeigh, Karin Giannone and Kasia Madera, who have all presented on the BBC's television channels, claimed they lost their jobs following a "rigged" recruitment exercise.

Keep ReadingShow less
Indian student in US self-deports after visa revocation

In this screenshot from a video posted by @Sec_Noem via X on March 14, 2025, Ranjani Srinivasan, an Indian citizen who participated in pro-Palestinian protests at United State’s Columbia University, leaves the country after her visa was revoked by the Department of State. (@Sec_Noem via PTI Photo)

Indian student in US self-deports after visa revocation

AN INDIAN student at Columbia University, whose visa was revoked for allegedly supporting Hamas, has self-deported, says the Department of Homeland Security (DHS).

Ranjani Srinivasan, an Indian citizen, came to the US on an F-1 student visa as a doctoral student in Urban Planning at Columbia University, and her visa was revoked on March 5.

Keep ReadingShow less
'Companies with diverse leadership are better positioned for growth'

From LtoR- Lord Karan Bilimoria, Sir Trevor Phillips, Seema Malhotra MP, David Tyler and Nathan Coe

'Companies with diverse leadership are better positioned for growth'

COMPANIES with diverse leadership are better positioned for sustainable growth, improved decision-making, and will connect better with multicultural markets, equalities minister Seema Malhotra has said.

She added that the government will soon launch a public consultation on their approach to mandatory ethnicity and disability pay gap reporting.

Keep ReadingShow less
Subrahmanyam Jaishankar with  Wang Yi (right)

Subrahmanyam Jaishankar with Wang Yi (right)

S Jaishankar: ‘Delhi’s global interests shape its regional ties'

INDIA today sees itself as a global power or, at least, a country with global interests, which is why Subrahmanyam Jaishankar has spoken of its equation with Russia, China and notably the Middle East.

India’s external affairs minister was in conversation last Wednesday (5) in London with Bronwen Maddox, director of the Royal Institute of International Affairs at Chatham House.

Keep ReadingShow less