WHARFEDALE politicians are backing calls for tougher action on ‘hate crime’.

New statistics show that hate crime has more than doubled in England and Wales over the past four years.*

And from 2017 to 2018, 94,098 offences were recorded by the police - a 17 per cent increase on the previous year.

The Liberal Democrats’ Parliamentary candidate for Leeds North West, Kamran Hussain, said: “We cannot hide away from the statistics; everyone has a responsibility to do their bit to tackle this.

“I am urging the Government to take the lead and redouble its efforts to prevent hate crime, which can inflict lasting psychological damage, divide communities and beget further violence.

“The Liberal Democrats are rightly calling for the definition of ‘aggravated offences’ to be extended so that it also covers hate crimes based on gender, sexual orientation and disability.

“That would send a clear message that no form of hate crime can be tolerated and ensure that all victims are protected.”

MP Alex Sobel (Lab, Leeds North West) agrees that more must be done. He said: “Hate crime is a significant problem and has sadly increased in recent years.

“I have seen first-hand, both in my constituency casework and with the tragic murder of my colleague, Joe Cox, the sad reality of hate and the impact it can have on people’s lives.

“Since my time as Leeds co-ordinator of Hope Not Hate, and in my current role as an MP, I have worked to support victims of hate crime and promote a culture of tolerance and decency.”

The 2017 to 2018 statistics included 71,251 crimes classed as race hate, while 11,638 (12 per cent) were triggered by sexual orientation and 8,336 (nine per cent) had religion as a factor.

Another 7,226 were motivated because of someone’s disability and 1,651 were aimed at transgender people.

The Home Office data shows that the sharpest rise was in religious hate crime, which jumped by 40 percent from 5,949 in 2016 to 2017.

*Though the figures are thought to be largely driven by improvements in police recording, there have also been spikes in hate incidents following specific events including the EU Referendum and terrorist attacks in 2017.