News, views and top stories in your inbox. Don't miss our must-read newsletter Sign up Thank you for subscribing We have more newsletters Show me See our privacy notice Invalid Email

Brexit unleashed race hate across Britain with more than 13,000 racist tweets sent in the week after the vote , it has been revealed.

The National Police Chiefs Council recorded a 400% rise in reported race crimes says Channel 4 ’s Dispatches.

Home Office Minister Karen Bradley tells the programme: “There can be no excuse for hate crime, for abuse being hurled at innocent people.”

It also uncovered a 300% surge in Islamophobic tweets in the aftermath of the Brussels terror attacks, which killed 32.

But most keyboard offenders will escape prosecution, says former Chief Crown Prosecutor for the North West, Nazir Afzal.

He describes the majority of tweets “insulting and abusive” but says they would not pass the threshold for incitement to religious hatred.