Antisemitic hate crimes in London treble in year, data shows

Exclusive: The Metropolitan Police recorded a rapid rise in faith-based hate crime in 2023

Reports of antisemitic hate crimes trebled in London last year, new police data shows.

Hate crimes flagged as antisemitic by the Metropolitan Police rose from 562 incidents in 2022 to 1,729 in 2023 – a surge of 208 per cent.

Freedom of information data obtained by The Independent also showed that hate crimes flagged as Islamophobic rose by 49 per cent in the same period, from 940 to 1,405.

The figures are revealed ahead of a speech on Tuesday by communities secretary Michael Gove about the rise of antisemitism in the wake of the Israel-Hamas war, accusing organisers of pro-Palestine marches of not doing enough to stop antisemitic messages.

Organising groups have previously said the events, attracting crowds of thousands, are overwhelmingly peaceful with a low arrest rate. Mr Gove said he wanted to “make marchers pay” for weekly pro-Palestinian protests in London, adding: “I don’t want to make it unaffordable for groups to protest but when groups protest again and again then I think it is fair to ask them to pay.”

Reports of antisemitic behaviour dramatically increased after the Hamas attacks on Israel on 7 October, according to Jewish security organisation The Community Security Trust (CST), which recorded 4,103 antisemitic incidents in the UK in 2023, a 147 per cent rise on the 1,662 incidents in 2022.

The Met Police previously said last year that it saw a surge in antisemitic offences recorded between 1 to 18 October, with 218 incidents reported, as well as a rise in Islamophobic hate crimes.

The new data shows there were 1,335 recorded victims of suspected antisemitism in 2023, of whom 71 per cent were Jewish. That was up from 469 recorded victims in 2022.

Some 1,274 people were recorded as victims of reported Islamophobic hate crimes in London in 2023, of whom 77 per cent were Muslim – up from 872 in 2022.

Chief Rabbi Mirvis, Eddie Marsan, Tracy-Ann Oberman, Rachel Riley, Maureen Lipman (second from right) and Vanessa Feltz (right) take part in a march against antisemitism organised by the volunteer-led charity Campaign Against Antisemitism at the Royal Courts of Justice in London (PA)

There was a 49 per cent rise in faith-based hate crime incidents where the victim’s religion was Christian, with 141 people targeted in 2022 and 210 in 2023.

Responding to the Met’s police data, a spokesperson for the CST said: “The police hate crime statistics match our own figures which showed a sharp rise in anti-Jewish incidents and hate crimes following 7 October last year. Antisemitism is always completely unacceptable, and we will continue to work closely with the police and the local Jewish communities to reduce the impact of this hatred.”

A spokesperson for the Met Police said: “The Met has been working closely with representatives from London’s Jewish and Muslim communities since the attacks in Israel.

“Officers have been regularly deployed to provide reassurance and to investigate offences in the vicinity of faith schools, places of worship and in those communities where we know the levels of concern are highest. Those visits will continue.

“Regrettably, despite the increased presence of officers, we have seen a significant increase in hate crime across London. This includes abuse directed at individuals or groups in person or online, racially or religiously motivated criminal damage and other offences.

“We continue to encourage anyone who experiences hate crime to report it to the police. It is not acceptable and we will investigate.”