The British government has promised tough action against hate crimes but has rejected calls for a legal definition of ‘Islamophobia’, following the discovery of threatening letters sent out to Muslims in London and beyond. The letters are currently under investigation by the police.
“This government wants to give a strong message to Muslim people across this country… we are committed to their safety and security,” said Victoria Atkins, a Home Office Minister, in Parliament following an urgent question from Labour MP Yasmin Qureshi in Parliament calling for clarity on the government’s strategy for tackling the rising issue of Islamophobia.
Ms. Atkins said that letters such as those sent at the weekend would be treated with the “utmost seriousness”.
Tackling extremism
“The issue of anti Muslim and far-right extremism is a focus for the government,” she said, pointing to the government’s anti-radicalisation programme, Prevent, which she said did not focus just on Islamic radicalisation but other forms of extremism, including of the far right.
However she rejected the suggestion from Conservative backbencher Anna Soubry that a legal definition of ‘Islamophobia’ was needed to tackle what Ms. Soubry described as an “act of incitement to terrorism”.
The Islamophobia monitoring charity TellMAMAUK reported over the weekend that it was working with police after receiving reports of an offensive letter being sent to Muslims in London, the Midlands and Yorkshire. The letters refer to a reward system — from 10 points for verbally abusing a Muslim to 100 points for beating up a Muslim.
“We take religious hatred extremely seriously and my officers will be carrying out a full and thorough investigation in response to these reports,” said Martin Snowden, head of counterterrorism policing in North East England. Other police forces across the country called on any of those impacted to contact police forces or charities.
Increasing attacks
The letters come amid rising concern about Islamphobia and attacks on Muslims in the U.K. Figures published by the Mayor’s office in London last month revealed a 40% rise in anti-Muslim hate crime in the year to January.
Last week, the House of Commons Home Affairs Committee wrote to Google, questioning why material from the far-right anti-Muslim group National Action continued to be hosted on YouTube, despite promises that it would be removed.
