Government condemns racist incidents
Print Edition
PRIME Minister David Cameron’s spokeswoman said yesterday that the government “will not tolerate intolerance” after a series of racist incidents were reported following Britain’s decision to leave the European Union.
“We should be absolutely clear that this government will not tolerate intolerance... intimidating migrants, telling them they need to go home,” she told journalists.
The Polish Embassy in London earlier said it was “shocked and deeply concerned” by incidents of abuse directed at the Polish community.
They include the posting of laminated cards reading “Leave the EU — no more Polish vermin” to members of the Polish community in Huntingdon, near Cambridge, on Saturday and reports of racist graffiti scrawled on a Polish community center in Hammersmith, London.
London Mayor Sadiq Khan placed the city’s police on alert following the incidents. He said he took “seriously my responsibility to defend London’s fantastic mix of diversity and tolerance.”
Cambridgeshire Constabulary’s Nick Percival said the force was looking into the posting of racist cards as it represented a hate crime.
John O’Connell, from anti-racism group Far Right Watch, said they had recorded over 90 incidents on social media in the past three days, ranging from “verbal abuse up to physical violence.” Sky News journalist Adam Boulton tweeted that he had seen three “‘when are you going home?’ racist incidents aimed at EU citizens.”
Finance minister George Osborne called for “unity of spirit and purpose,” and urged Britons to “condemn hatred and division wherever we see it.”
“Britain is an open and tolerant country and I will fight with everything I have to keep it so,” he said.
Conservative politician Sayeeda Warsi blamed the highly charged campaign for enflaming tensions. “Long after the political bus moves on we leave problems on our street,” she told Sky News.
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