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Anti-Muslim hate crime leaps after recent terror attacks

There has been an increase in anti-Muslim hate crime in the immediate aftermaths of the Manchester Arena bombing and London Bridge attack in Manchester and London respectively, figures show. The number of Islamophobic attacks in Manchester increased in fivefold the week after the concert bombing, with 139 incidents reported to Tell Mama who are responsible for recording Islamophobic compared to 25 the previous week. Police forces around the country have stepped up in protecting Muslim communities following the Finsbury Park attack, with the home secretary, Amber Rudd, saying that the extra resource will remain in place ‘for as long as it is needed’. Assistant chief constable Mark Hamilton of the National Police Chiefs’ Council said both Manchester and the Met police had registered short-term spikes in hate crime. In Manchester, the volume had since returned to levels before the bombing. He said: “We know that terrorist attacks and other national and global events have the potential to trigger short-term spikes of hate crime. For this reason we have increased the central reporting of hate crimes for police forces so that we can identify trends and assess threats.”

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