The number of hate crimes in England and Wales has reached unprecedented levels since the Home Office began recording figures in 2011.
There were 80,393 offences in England and Wales in 2016-17 a rise of 27%, according to the latest figures published on Tuesday.
The biggest rise was in disability and transgender hate crimes, but this was due to better crime recording and more people coming forward, the report said.
The Home Office said the figures showed a spike in hate crimes in England and Wales following the Westminster Bridge attack on 22 March, as well as in the aftermath of the EU referendum in June 2016.
Home Secretary Amber Rudd said there was “absolutely no place for hate crime in our society” and said the rise after 2017’s terrorist attacks were “undoubtedly concerning”.
The Home Office report said: “The increase over the last year is thought to reflect both a genuine rise in hate crime around the time of the EU referendum and following the Westminster Bridge terrorist attack, as well as ongoing improvements in crime reporting by police”.
Regarding disability, transgender and sexual orientation hate crimes, the report stated that the rise “suggests that the increases are due to the police improving their identification and recording of hate crime offences and more people coming forward to report these crimes – rather than a genuine increase”.
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The 29% increase in the annual figure is the largest rise since the official hate crime figures started to be published five years ago.
Home Office statisticians said the increase was thought to reflect both a genuine rise in hate crime and ongoing improvements in crime recording by the police.
