Provisional figures released by the mayor’s office show a sharp rise in anti-Muslim incidents following the London Bridge terror attack. On Monday, the force recorded 20 anti-Muslim incidents on Monday, compared with a daily average of 3.5 this year, according to the Evening Standard.
In a statement, London Mayor Sadiq Khan said: “One of the greatest things about London is our defiant unity in the face of adversity – and that will not change in the aftermath of this horrific attack.
Just as the police will do everything possible to root out extremism from our city, so we will take a zero-tolerance approach to hate crime.
If you witness a hate crime please report it to the police. If you commit a hate crime, you face arrest”.
A Metropolitan Police spokesperson provided Tell MAMA with a statement of reassurance, urging members of the public to report hate crimes. It reads:
After recent events in Manchester and London Bridge the MPS may see an increase in hate crime within the City of Westminster and across London. Since the incident on Saturday evening there have been 10 hate crime incidents reported to police in Westminster. Three of these was Islamophobic in nature, but are unrelated to the London Bridge incident.
The MPS would like to reassure the public that they treat all communities with tolerance and respect, and long may that continue.
There are a number of ways people can report hate crimes to the police – directly by calling 999 or 101, or via the True Vision website at report-it.org.uk. For anyone who feels uncomfortable speaking to the police about hate crime they can submit a report to this website anonymously.
Anti-Muslim incidents can also be reported to Tell MAMA on 0800 456 1226, WhatsApp 0734 184 6086 or at tellmamauk.org.