Racist offences on Transport for London's (TfL) rail network have doubled in the space of four years, with a leading anti-hate crime charity saying Brexit tensions could be partly to blame.
Rose Simkins, chief executive of Stop Hate UK, today urged Leave and Remain politicians to tone down the rhetoric as new figures revealed a spike in racially and religiously aggravated offences on the Tube and other rail services in the capital.
She said: “Language is really important in not fuelling this."
British Transport Police (BTP) data obtained by the Standard under the Freedom of Information Act showed that in 2018/19, there were 1,143 reported offences on the Tube, Overground, Docklands Light Railway (DLR), TfL Rail and Tramlink.
Racially and religiously aggravated crimes on TfL rail network since 2014/15
Tube, Overground, DLR, TfL Rail and Tramlink
2014/15 - 575
2015/16 - 785
2016/17 - 1,081
2017/18 - 1,189
2018/19 - 1,143
This was nearly double the 575 reported in 2014/15. Most of the 1,081 crimes reported in the 2016/17 year happened after the Brexit referendum.
Ms Simkins told the Standard: "The figures don’t surprise me. Everybody working to combat hate crime is aware there are tensions causing these increases. After the referendum, the number of hate crimes increased and there is also evidence of a slow increase at the moment.
“There are definitely feelings of increased hostility towards people who are different. The current situation of political uncertainty, and some people using Leave as an anti-immigration platform, means there is greater hostility towards people who are perceived to be from another country."
In one instance, in October last year, a woman was punched in the face on the Overground, claiming it was because she was speaking Spanish. Her attacker reportedly said: "You shouldn’t speak other languages."
Ms Simkins continued: “Language [of elected officials] is really important in not fuelling this. We often see politicians using antagonistic and divisive language.
"The way the Leave and Remain debate has continued and been managed has increased that tension - and in many ways created it. This might not have happened if it was handled differently."
She added an increasing number of victims and onlookers reporting hate crimes is another factor behind the jump since 2014/15: "Institutions like ourselves, British Transport Police and the government have campaigned to raise more awareness on how to report hate crimes.
“Before, people might not have known they can report it, or thought no one cared. But there’s now a stronger message."
Top five most offences by TfL route since 2014/15
Overground - 655
Jubilee line - 527
Central line - 499
Northern line - 494
District line - 473
In a statement, British Transport Police said: “The sort of hate crime we see on the transport network is largely verbal abuse, rather than physical attacks, but this is extremely serious and we treat every report seriously.
“We are putting every effort into investigating these types of crimes. Of course, investigating offences is complex, however the railway is a CCTV-rich environment and this evidence can be crucial in identifying offenders and bringing them before the courts.”
A spokesman for mayor of London and TfL chair Sadiq Khan said: “The mayor believes that hate crime has absolutely no place in our society, and this includes London’s public transport network that must be a place where everyone feels safe.
“This is why TfL are doing more than ever before to work with the Met and BTP to tackle hate crime and ensure offenders on our transport network are brought to justice.
“The increase in offences reflects national and London-wide trends, and is partly as a result of high-profile public campaigns that have encouraged more people to come forward and report hate crime.”
