People guilty of hate crimes should be put on an official register and banned from certain jobs, according to a Durham University academic.

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The Commons Home Affairs Committee is currently holding an inquiry into hate crime and its consequences.

In written evidence submitted to the inquiry, Thom Brooks, professor of law and government, says a “Hate Crime Offenders Register” would list those guilty of racist abuse or assault. Such an approach would send a “clear signal” about the severity of such offences, he said.

“Given increasing concern about hate crimes, there may be scope for parliament to consider establishing a Hate Crime Offenders Register along the lines of the Sex Offenders Register – and to similar effect.

“Anyone on a Hate Crime Offenders Register could be restricted from working with children and/or working in certain professions. This seems sensible, mirrors current policies in place and would help send a clearer signal of how serious these offences are,” he added.

Hate crimes are defined as any offence that is racially or religiously aggravated. Crimes motivated by a person’s disability, ethnicity, gender, or sexual orientation are also included.

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The majority of Britain’s police forces reported a higher number of hate crime incidents in the three months that followed the Brexit vote than in any quarter since 2012.

According to the Home Office, the month of July 2016 saw a 41 percent spike in hate crimes.

Last week, Essex police said there was “no evidence" indicating that there is a link between Britain’s vote to leave the EU and the current spike in hate crime.

UKIP leader Paul Nuttall has said that such incidents have been “overblown” in an attempt to “rubbish Brexit.”

He told the Independent: “A lot of that [rise in hate crimes] is fabricated. Of course, there will be individual instances and people should never be victims of hate crime at all.

“I’ve said this in the chamber in the European Parliament, my heart goes out to those people who have been victims, but I think a lot of this has been overblown specifically to try to rubbish Brexit.”