Spike in hate crime peaked after Brexit vote

A SPIKE in reported hate crimes and incidents peaked on the day after the EU referendum result was announced.

There were 289 alleged offences in the UK on June 25 – equivalent to 12 every hour, police data showed.

The figures show 3,076 hate crimes and incidents were reported to police across the UK between June 16 and 30. This was an increase of 915, or 42 per cent, compared with last year.

It comes after the words ‘Ukip’ and ‘dirty Polish’ were spray-painted on the wall near the war memorial in Guildhall Square, in Portsmouth on June 27.