Shropshire hate crime warning after Brexit referendum vote
There has been a small rise in hate crime following the referendum result, West Mercia Police said today.
It warned it would crack down on any attacks, either verbal or physical.
It follows concerns about the impact of the Brexit vote on EU workers, which led David Cameron to condemn reports of abuse.
Shrewsbury MP Daniel Kawczynski, who is of Polish descent, raised the issue in the Commons during a debate on the referendum.
Mr Cameron condemned xenophobic abuse, adding he "will not tolerate intolerance".
West Mercia Police spokeswoman Holly Claydon-Bevan said there had been a "small increase" in reports of abuse since the referendum.
She said: "We will not tolerate any offence that is motivated by a hostility or prejudice towards a person's race, religion, sexual orientation, disability or gender.
"Tackling hate crime is one of our key priorities and any reports of this nature will be thoroughly investigated.
"Nobody should have to tolerate victimisation because of who they are, and it is important that our communities have the confidence to come forward and report hate crime. By encouraging victims to report offences, we can target those responsible and ultimately lead to a reduction in incidents."
One Shropshire ex-pat now living in Warsaw said Polish friends were worried about the issue in the UK. Former Shropshire Star reporter William Tomaney said: "People want to know if there has been an increase in hate crimes. It's not gone unnoticed here."
Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn, was today facing a vote of no confidence from fellow MPs as he continues to fight to hang on to his leadership.
His claim that he retains the support of rank and file Labour voters was backed by a shrop shirestar.com survey, in which 40 per cent backed him to remain as leader.
Mr Corbyn had to embark on a frantic reshuffle after a mass resignation of shadow cabinet ministers. He resisted calls to resign, led by deputy leader and West Midlands MP Tom Watson.
Shropshire Star readers placed Theresa May and Boris Johnson as the two overwhelming favourites to succeed David Cameron.
Both are expected to put their names forward, with backers of Mrs May seeing her as the best "stop Boris" candidate.
Mr Johnson has called for an end of "Project Fear" as he attempts to build bridges with a more conciliatory approach to the EU.
