Massive spike in race hate crimes on the railways in the wake of Brexit, say transport police
Rail campaigners call the latest figures 'very worrying' after a 57% increase reported in the fortnight after the referendum
FIGURES show in the wake of Brexit there was a spike in the number of suspected race hate crimes on UK railways.
In the two weeks following the vote to leave the European Union, British Transport Police recorded 119 incidents of alleged racist abuse and attacks at stations - equivalent to eight every day.
This amounts to a 57% increase compared with the previous fortnight, and a massive rise of 78% on the same period in 2015.
In the days just after the historic vote for Brexit a suspect was arrested on suspicion of being racially abusive towards staff at York station, while an individual was held at Newcastle after allegedly using racist language in front of police officers.
At Oxenholme in the Lake District rail staff were reportedly racially abused the day after the referendum result, and there were similar incidents at Bath Spa, Liverpool and Dorking, while racist graffiti was spotted on a wall at a station in Glasgow.
In London there were alleged offences such as members of staff at Wood Green and Notting Hill Gate being assaulted and racially abused, racist graffiti was reported at Golders Green station, and police officers were said to have been racially abused on several occasions.
Superintendent Chris Horton, of BTP, said: "Hate crime is totally unacceptable and has no place in society or on the rail network.
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"We are aware that hate crime is under-reported and so in order to tackle it effectively, we need the public to stand up to those committing these sickening acts and report it to us. We will take every report seriously.
"We will always work tirelessly to ensure those who threaten or intimidate passengers are brought to justice."
Last month it was revealed more than 6,000 alleged hate crimes and incidents were reported to police in England, Wales and Northern Ireland in the four weeks from the middle of June.
In response the Government have launched a new hate crime action plan, including steps to tackle offences perpetrated on public transport.
Bruce Williamson, of campaign group Railfuture, said: "Every passenger should be able to enter a station and board a train without fear of abuse or worse.
"These latest figures are very worrying, and they highlight the continuing need for staff presence at stations and on board trains.”
Rose Simkins, the chief executive of charity Stop Hate UK, said: “While we are encouraged that people have found confidence to report incidents due to the national publicity on the issue, it is a sad fact that the numbers of all hate incidents are extremely under-reported.
“We consistently hear from victims that one of the reasons they do not report incidents is a lack of confidence in authorities to deal with the issue.
“We would encourage BTP to look closely at the type of incidents being reported and take the opportunity to assess how effective their hate crime strategies are.”