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London: A rise in racist incidents across the UK in the last few days has been blamed on the Brexit referendum result causing some people to "think it's open season for racism".
Political leaders called for action against intolerance, and vigilance against racism, after police said hate crime reports had risen by more than 50 per cent between Thursday and Sunday compared with the same period four weeks ago.
BBC journalist Sima Kotecha tweeted on Monday lunchtime she was "in utter shock: just been called p**i [Pakki] in my home town! Haven't heard that word here since the 80s".
The Muslim Council of Britain on Sunday collated details of 100 hate incidents since the referendum result – ranging from people being told to "go home", to much worse.
And the Islamic Human Rights Commission said since the referendum incidents of racism and Islamophobia had been on the rise.
"The 'leave' result has further legitimised the environment of hate we already exist in – we have already received many hate crime reports," they said.
Warsaw's embassy in the UK issued a statement saying it was "shocked and deeply concerned by the recent incidents of xenophobic abuse directed against the Polish community."
In utter shock: just been called p**i in my home town! Haven't heard that word here since the 80s..!— Sima Kotecha (@sima_kotecha) June 27, 2016
Cambridgeshire police are investigating hate literature reading "No more Polish vermin" that was posted through letterboxes of Polish residents, left on car windows and near a school.
An 11-year-old boy, whose family moved to Britain from Poland three years ago, told the BBC he was going to school when he found a card containing the words on Friday. The boy's father said: "I live in this country, I pay any taxes. My home is now this country. I do not understand this situation."
And graffiti reading "get out" was scrawled on the front doors of a Polish cultural centre in Hammersmith
Reports to a police online hate crime reporting site rose 57 per cent between Thursday and Sunday compared to corresponding days four weeks ago.
In parliament David Cameron said the country "will not stand for hate crime or these kinds of attacks, they must be stamped out".
The Prime Minister vowed to "bring our country together" after the series of incidents.
And opposition leader Jeremy Corbyn said he hoped the prime minister and the home secretary would "take all action to halt the disgraceful racist behaviour on the streets of our country".
He added that politicians had a duty to calm their language and tone, especially after the murder of Labour MP Jo Cox ten days ago.
But former deputy Labour leader Harriet Harman said the leaders of the Brexit campaign had "engendered an atmosphere where some people think it's open season for racism".
