Voting Leave does not make racism acceptable

A small number of people with views to the far right used the EU Leave campaign as an excuse to legitimise racism. Now the country has voted to Leave the EU we are starting to hear about incidents of racism where they had not been encountered before.

The Police Borough Commander has written to us to advise that the Met Police are taking action to provide reassurance to communities and that any incidences of hate crime will not be tolerated and will be investigated.

The local Police advise that they have had no incidences recorded, however I have lately received reports of local people being racially abused both during and after the campaign.

I would strongly advise anyone who has been subjected to racist abuse to report it to the Police. We need to stamp down on this quickly and hard and be clear that racism and hate crime is not acceptable under any circumstances in the London Borough of Sutton.

I believe that the vast majority of people in Sutton are kind, tolerant, thoughtful people who find racism abhorrent, and the people who voted to leave the EU did so for reasons a million miles away from the views of these Far Right groups. Which makes it all the more important that we stand united to fight any upsurge in racism in our local area.

Police letter below:

Dear Friends,

UK EU Referendum : Keeping London Safe and Secure Together

The EU Referendum may have divided public opinion, but one thing that I am certain we can all agree upon is our great liberal values, including the principles of democracy and tolerance. The very large majority of us are proud of our nation’s diversity and the value that difference can bring. This is obvious in our #westandtogether campaigns, when all communities of all backgrounds and from every neighbourhood stand together in unity against hatred and extremism. We are also highly aware that some critical events, whether at home or abroad, can incite incidents of intolerance and/or hate which we will not tolerate. We are also mindful that when this happens communities can feel insecure and unsafe. The MPS has responded quickly by putting in place a comprehensive policing plan across each borough that will enable us to communicate directly with communities to reassure them; to engage at a personal level in local communities, building further trust and confidence; to have local policing plans that provide highly visible policing at times and in locations which meet the needs of our communities; and to monitor community sentiment through a rolling community impact assessment. There have been some isolated incidents of hate crimes and I am proud of the way in which communities have come together and shown unity. Any act of hate crime is not acceptable and will not be tolerated. We would appeal to anyone who witnesses or suffers any hate crime to come forward and report it immediately. We have over 900 specialist detectives who investigate all hate crimes and want to bring offenders to justice. I would like to encourage you to get to know your local Neighbourhood Officers who will be able to offer support and friendship.

With my best wishes,

Mak Chishty Commander Engagement