Hendon Town Hall
The Leader of Barnet Council says we must stand together and stop hate spilling over into our borough following the outbreak of violent unrest across the country.
Leader of Barnet Council and the Labour Group, Cllr Barry Rawlings, said:
“The shocking murders of three young children in Southport last week have left the nation in mourning. Sadly, our collective grief has been trampled on by mobs who have sought to use this tragedy to spread misinformation and hate.
“We stand in unity with our Muslim communities and all communities that have suffered heinous racist attacks and abuse in the past few days at the hands of gangs of far-right thugs. The scenes from towns and cities across the country have appalled every rightminded person. This is not protest; there is no place in civilised society for this outpouring of hate and violence.
“We are proudly a designated Borough of Sanctuary, meaning that we welcome and support those fleeing terror and persecution to rebuild their lives in Barnet. Barnet’s strength has always been in its diversity and many of our residents will be affected by the violence in some way. But we must not let the hate spill over into our borough. We are working with our partners and our faith leaders to look at what we can do to support our communities locally and with the police to ensure our residents feel safe and protected.
“We are in close contact with the Police and they have told us they do not have any intelligence to suggest that places of worship in Barnet will be targeted. However, Police officers have been patrolling and engaging with faith communities to reassure and listen to concerns to better understand what people are feeling. There will continue to be an increased visible Police presence in the coming days to ensure the safety of our communities.
“While there have been no attacks in our vicinity, the Police are ensuring a visible presence to address concerns of all residents that the scenes elsewhere in the country could happen on our doorstep.
“Our message to all Barnet residents - particularly those who belong to communities that have been targeted – is that Barnet Council is here for you. We are working for you and your safety is our priority.”
Reporting hate crime
If you become aware of any other activity / events being organised then please report it to the Police. To report crime or hate incidents, please call 999 for emergency and 101 for non - emergencies. Alternatively, you can report via the Met Police website: https://www.met.police.uk/ro/report/
If you prefer not to use the other suggested methods, you can visit one of the 11 Hate Crime reporting centres, where you can get help to report a Hate Crime.