Harrowing figures show racist and religious-based hate crimes have hit record levels as campaigners warn of a national emergency.
Stark data reveals overall hate crimes went up by 7% in England and Wales in the year to March, with four in 10 involving violence. This included a 9% rise in race hate crimes and a 13% increase in victims being targeted because of their religion.
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There was a 15% rise in hate crimes directed at Muslims and 10% aimed at Jews. Sabby Dhalu, Stand up to Racism Co-Convenor, told The Mirror: “Sadly, it is no surprise that race and religious hate crimes increased in the year ending March 2026.
“This period coincided with a summer of hate targeting hotels housing asylum seekers, with politicians either openly supporting these demonstrations or conceding to the pressure they generated, culminating in the largest far-right demonstration in British history.
“These figures confirm two things. First, when politicians fan the flames of hatred, it has consequences on the ground. Secondly, racism directed at one community can create a climate in which other communities are targeted too.
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“That is why we all have a responsibility to stand in solidarity with any community facing racism and hatred, and to unite against racism, Islamophobia and antisemitism. We cannot allow hatred directed at one community to become normalised, because ultimately it threatens us all.”
Ilyas Nagdee, racial justice lead at Amnesty International UK said: “The shocking rise in hate crimes show that racism, violence and fear are tragically becoming a day-to-day reality across the UK.
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“Behind these statistics are stories of children who are afraid to go to school, families who are scared to leave home and communities divided. When there are over 10,000 racially or religiously aggravated offences record in a single month, and hate crimes are increasing in double digits year on year, we are in a genuine emergency.
“The UK government must act now and resource hate crime investigations to cut down the delays present between hate and non-hate offences, hold perpetrators to account, and send an unambiguous message that racism and all forms of hate will not be tolerated.”
The Home Office data showed there were 146,825 hate crimes recorded by police in England and Wales, of which 107,926 were linked to race. A further 11,419 were motivated by religious – with 5,132 directed at Muslims and 3,162 at Jews.
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In October last year two British Jews, Adrian Daulby and Melvin Cravitz, were killed in a terror attack at Heaton Park Synagogue in Manchester. In the 12 months to March there were 117 police-recorded religious hate crimes targeted at Jewish people per 10,000 population – the highest rate for any religious group. The next highest rate was for religious hate crimes targeted at Muslims, with 13 per 10,000 population.
Just 10% of hate crimes resulted in a charge or summons, the figures show. Outside of London, religious and racial hatred incidents are at their highest levels since records began in March 2014, the Home Office said.
Policing Minister Sarah Jones said: “These numbers offer a stark warning that hatred continues to blight our communities, both online and on the streets.
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“This government will not tolerate people being targeted by threats and violence simply for being who they are. We fully support a robust response from police to any reports of hate crime.”
The figures show there were 21,407 sexual orientation hate crimes recorded by police – down 1%. Disability hate crime cases fell by 5% and transgender hate dropped by 4%, but questions have been raised about the data.
Rose Simkins, chief executive of Stop Hate UK, said: “I think we are in bleak times. The positive we always take from it is that people are coming forward, which is good. But we believe there are many, many more incidents that are never reported and never recorded by the police.
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“We’re not surprised that obviously race and faith have increased with the current climate. I’ve been in a meeting this morning where people are reporting, that the term ‘get out of my country’ is being used more and more to people.
“And going back more than 20 years, that was something that was often said to people. And I know of a 17-year-old who tried to die by suicide as a result of just hearing those words. So they really resonate with people and cause considerable harm.
“I’m not surprised that those figures have gone up. I think there is a bigger problem than the figures reflect.”
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Ms Simkins continued: “The other aspect that really concerns us is the decrease in disability and transgender hate crime figures, because our interactions with trans people do not reflect a reduction in incidents. They’re basically living in fear and experiencing many, many incidents.”
UK Facing a “Genuine Emergency” as Racism and Hate Crimes Against Muslims and Jews Soar
Britain is facing growing concern over racism, religious hatred and the safety of minority communities after new figures revealed a significant increase in hate crimes targeting Muslims and Jewish people. The latest statistics have prompted warnings from community organisations and political representatives that hatred is becoming an increasingly serious challenge for the country.
Figures published by the Home Office on 8 October 2026 showed that police in England and Wales recorded 146,825 hate crimes in the year ending March 2026, an increase of 7 per cent compared with the previous year. Race-related offences rose by 9 per cent, while religious hate crimes increased by 13 per cent.
The figures also revealed a 15 per cent rise in religious hate crimes targeting Muslims, reaching 5,132 recorded offences. Crimes targeting Jewish people increased by 10 per cent to 3,162.
These numbers have intensified concerns about the atmosphere facing Britain’s religious and ethnic communities. For many campaigners, the issue is no longer simply about isolated incidents of abuse. It is about whether people can go to work, attend school, visit places of worship and participate in public life without fearing hostility because of their identity.
The statistics have also renewed questions about the responsibilities of political leaders, the influence of inflammatory rhetoric and the effectiveness of measures designed to protect communities from discrimination.
A Growing Crisis of Hatred
The latest figures provide a troubling picture of the challenges facing communities across England and Wales. More than 146,000 hate crimes were recorded during the reporting period, with race-related offences accounting for approximately three-quarters of the total.
However, the figures require careful interpretation. Police-recorded offences reflect incidents reported to and recorded by law enforcement agencies. They do not capture every experience of racism or religious hatred, because some victims do not report what happened to them.
Changes in police recording practices can also affect comparisons over time. The Home Office has cautioned that changes to the Metropolitan Police’s recording systems complicate some comparisons with previous years.
Even with these limitations, the increases in recorded offences are a significant concern. They indicate a substantial demand on police services and highlight the need to understand why hostility is being directed at particular communities.
The rise in religious hate crimes is especially striking because it affects people whose religious identities are often visible in public life. Muslim women wearing hijabs, Jewish people wearing religious clothing and people attending places of worship can become targets for abuse from strangers.
Such incidents can have consequences beyond the immediate victim. When members of a community repeatedly experience hostility, they may become more reluctant to attend public events, travel alone or openly express their religious identity.
The result can be a gradual restriction of ordinary freedoms, even for people who have never personally experienced a physical attack.
Anti-Muslim Hatred Under Increasing Scrutiny
The increase in recorded offences against Muslims has raised particular alarm among organisations working to document anti-Muslim hostility.
The Home Office recorded 5,132 religious hate crimes targeting Muslims in the year ending March 2026, up from 4,479 in the previous year. That represents an increase of 15 per cent.
The figures show that anti-Muslim hatred remains a serious issue for communities throughout the country. The British Muslim Trust has also reported attacks against mosques, highlighting concerns that hostility can extend beyond individuals to places where communities gather for worship and social activities.
According to the trust, 78 attacks on UK mosques were identified during the year ending July 2026. Such incidents can create fear among worshippers and place additional financial pressure on religious organisations that must improve security while continuing their normal activities.
For many Muslims, the problem includes more than physical violence. Verbal abuse, threats, discriminatory treatment and hostile messages online can all contribute to a sense of insecurity.
Women who wear the hijab may be particularly visible targets for abuse in public spaces. Parents may worry about their children’s experiences at school, while mosque leaders must consider how to protect worshippers without making religious buildings feel like fortresses.
The government has allocated substantial funding to improve security at mosques and related community sites. Yet community representatives have argued that security measures alone cannot address the underlying causes of anti-Muslim hatred.
Protective funding can help install cameras, improve access controls and strengthen physical security. It cannot, by itself, change attitudes that lead someone to threaten a worshipper or attack a religious building.
Long-term progress requires effective policing alongside education, public engagement and a clear message that hostility towards Muslims is unacceptable.
Jewish Communities Face Persistent Antisemitism
Jewish communities are also confronting an elevated level of hostility. Home Office figures recorded 3,162 religious hate crimes targeting Jewish people in the year ending March 2026, a 10 per cent increase on the previous year.
The Community Security Trust, which monitors antisemitism in Britain, has reported similarly serious concerns. Its figures for January to June 2026 recorded 1,926 antisemitic incidents across the UK, a 21 per cent increase compared with the same period in 2025.
That was the second-highest first-half total recorded by the organisation, exceeded only by the corresponding period in 2024.
The incidents documented by the trust included abusive behaviour, threats and attacks on Jewish people and communal property. The organisation has warned that antisemitism has remained at an elevated level since the outbreak of the Israel-Hamas conflict in October 2023.
Developments in the Middle East can have immediate consequences for Jewish communities in Britain, even though British Jewish people are not collectively responsible for the actions of the Israeli government or any other political or military organisation.
This distinction is fundamental. Criticism of a government, its military operations or its policies is part of legitimate political debate. Targeting Jewish people because of their religion or presumed political views is a different matter.
Jewish schools, synagogues and community centres have faced heightened security concerns. For some families, visible security arrangements have become a regular part of everyday life.
The impact extends to children and young adults who may worry about openly expressing their identity or attending community events. No community should have to accept fear and intimidation as unavoidable features of religious life.
Tackling antisemitism therefore requires more than condemning individual attacks. It also requires ensuring that threats are taken seriously, perpetrators are held accountable where offences are proved, and Jewish people can participate fully in British society without being treated as representatives of events abroad.
Why Are Hate Crimes Increasing?
There is no single explanation for the increases recorded in the latest statistics. The Home Office identified several periods when anti-Muslim offences rose, including September 2025, which coincided with protests and public disorder, and March 2026, following the outbreak of conflict involving the United States and Iran.
Anti-Jewish incidents have also increased during periods of heightened international tension. The Home Office noted that offences targeting Jewish people rose following antisemitic crimes in the aftermath of the Heaton Park Synagogue terror attack in October 2025.
These developments illustrate how international conflicts and domestic political disputes can influence the experiences of communities in Britain.
When news from abroad generates anger, individuals may wrongly direct that anger towards people who share a religion or ethnicity with those involved in the events. Social media can accelerate the process by circulating unverified claims, inflammatory messages and images without sufficient context.
Online hostility can also spill into the physical world. A threatening post can encourage others to target a person or location, while false information about an incident can contribute to public disorder.
However, it would be misleading to attribute the entire increase in recorded hate crime to international events or social media. Broader changes in reporting, police recording and public willingness to report incidents also affect the figures.
The challenge for authorities is to identify the factors behind specific offences while ensuring that people are not collectively blamed for political or religious developments elsewhere.
Political Rhetoric and Public Responsibility
The debate has also raised questions about political language and the responsibilities of public figures.
Immigration, national identity, religious freedom and international conflicts are legitimate subjects for political discussion. Voters should be able to question government decisions, debate border policy and express disagreements about events abroad.
The difficulty arises when political arguments portray entire communities as dangerous, disloyal or responsible for the actions of particular individuals.
Such generalisations can reinforce prejudice and make it easier for extremists to justify hostility towards innocent people. Political leaders therefore have an important responsibility to distinguish criticism of policies and institutions from attacks on people because of their background or faith.
That responsibility applies across the political spectrum. No party or ideological movement should be exempt from scrutiny when its supporters engage in intimidation or discriminatory behaviour.
At the same time, the existence of offensive political rhetoric does not automatically establish that it caused a particular crime. Individual incidents must be investigated on their own evidence, and allegations should not be confused with proven offences.
A credible response requires both freedom of expression and effective protection against threats, violence and unlawful discrimination.
Security Measures Cannot Solve Everything
The government’s increased funding for the protection of religious sites demonstrates the scale of concern surrounding community safety.
In September 2026, reports indicated that the Home Office had provided a record £66 million in emergency security funding for mosques and related sites following the disorder that spread across parts of Britain after the Southport murders in 2024. Further funding was also made available through protective security schemes.
Such measures can provide important practical assistance. Better lighting, secure entrances, surveillance systems and other safeguards can reduce risks and help religious organisations respond to threats.
Nevertheless, security funding is only one part of the solution. If hostility continues to grow, communities may be forced to devote increasing amounts of money and volunteer time to protecting buildings that should be places of safety and welcome.
Authorities must also ensure that applications for assistance are processed fairly and promptly. Community organisations have raised concerns about delays and difficulties obtaining the full support they need.
Police forces, local councils and community leaders must work together to improve reporting, investigate offences and identify recurring patterns of intimidation.
Victims should be able to report abuse without fearing that their concerns will be dismissed or that reporting an incident will expose them to further hostility.
Schools and community organisations also have a role in teaching young people to recognise prejudice, challenge stereotypes and understand the difference between political disagreement and discrimination.
The Importance of Protecting Every Community
Although the latest figures highlight offences targeting Muslims and Jewish people, the broader principle extends to every community.
A society that tolerates hatred towards one religious group creates risks for others. Prejudice can spread between communities, particularly when political disputes are framed as conflicts between entire populations rather than disagreements about specific actions and policies.
The response must therefore be consistent. Antisemitism and anti-Muslim hatred should be challenged with equal seriousness, without treating concern for one community as a reason to minimise the suffering of another.
This does not mean every form of hatred has identical causes or affects every group in the same way. The available statistics show important differences in the number and rate of offences targeting different religious communities.
For example, Jewish people experienced a much higher police-recorded rate of religious hate crime per head of population than Muslims during the latest reporting period. Such differences matter when determining where protection and resources are most urgently needed.
An effective strategy should recognise the particular risks facing each community while maintaining the principle that no one should be targeted because of their religion or ethnicity.
The aim must be to ensure that people can practise their faith, express their identity and participate in public life without intimidation.
A Test for Britain’s Institutions
The latest figures represent a serious challenge for Britain’s police, government and civil society. They show that religious and racial hostility continues to affect large numbers of people, while community organisations report that the consequences extend beyond the incidents recorded by authorities.
The government must ensure that law enforcement agencies have the resources and training needed to investigate hate crimes effectively. Police forces must record offences consistently, communicate with victims and pursue evidence without favouritism.
Politicians should reject collective blame and avoid language that encourages suspicion towards entire communities. Social media companies also face questions about how they respond to threats, organised harassment and the circulation of dangerous falsehoods.
Community leaders have an important role in encouraging reporting, supporting victims and building relationships across religious and cultural boundaries.
None of these measures can eliminate prejudice overnight. But a consistent response can help prevent hostility from becoming normalised and demonstrate that attacks on one community will not be ignored.
Conclusion: A Genuine Emergency Demands Action
The increase in hate crimes targeting Muslims and Jewish people is a serious warning about the challenges facing Britain. The latest Home Office statistics show that recorded racial and religious offences have risen, while independent community monitoring highlights the continuing scale of antisemitism and concerns about attacks on Muslim communities.
The figures must be interpreted carefully because police records do not capture every incident and changes in recording practices affect comparisons. Even so, the evidence provides compelling grounds for renewed attention to public safety, prevention and accountability.
The answer cannot be to silence legitimate political debate or assume that every disagreement about immigration, religion or international affairs is motivated by hatred. Nor can the country afford to dismiss threats and abuse as an inevitable consequence of modern politics.
Britain’s institutions must protect freedom of expression while drawing a clear line against violence, intimidation and unlawful discrimination.
Muslims and Jewish people should not have to fear for their safety because of their faith. Children should not grow up believing that hostility towards their identity is normal. Worshippers should be able to attend mosques and synagogues without worrying about attacks, and families should not need to treat extraordinary security precautions as an ordinary part of religious life.
The challenge now is to turn expressions of concern into practical action. Better reporting, consistent enforcement, stronger protection for vulnerable sites and responsible public leadership are all essential.
The test of a democratic society is not whether every citizen agrees on politics, religion or international affairs. It is whether people can disagree without treating their neighbours as enemies.
As Britain confronts rising recorded hate crime, that principle must remain at the heart of its response.