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Hate crime soared after the Brexit vote in the biggest leap since records began in 2011, damning official figures show.

There were 80,393 offences in 2016/17, a 29% rise in one year.

The government said the hike was due partly to a "genuine rise in hate crime around the time of the EU referendum ."

The figures also reveal racial and religiously-aggravated hate crime reached an even higher peak after the London and Manchester terror attacks this year.

The spike to 6,000 offences in July 2017 was a few hundred higher than the previous post-referendum peak in July 2016.

The Home Office admitted the spike - which uses separate provisional figures because it happened after March 2017 - was likely to reflect a “genuine increase” in aggravated offences, not just a rise in reporting.

Officials did say better recording on police systems was partly to thank.

But damning charts of hate crime over time show a huge rise during the referendum campaign, peaking just after it finished.

The vast majority of offences were race hate crime (78%) with 11% recorded as homophobic crime and 7% each recorded as religious or disability hate crime.

The figures released today are the first official annual statistics to cover the aftermath of the Brexit vote on 23 June 2016.

They come as Home Secretary Amber Rudd faces MPs for a marathon two-hour grilling.

Her appearance is also likely to cover police cuts, Cabinet splits over Brexit and a report this week that criticised police’s approach to allegations of modern slavery.

(Image: Daily Mirror)

Home Secretary Amber Rudd said: “There is absolutely no place for hate crime in our society and this Government is taking action to tackle it.

“I am heartened that that more victims are more confident to come forward and report incidents of hate crime, and that police identification and recording of all crime is improving.

“But no-one in Britain should have to suffer violent prejudice, and indications that there was a genuine rise in the number of offences immediately following each of this year’s terror attacks is undoubtedly concerning.

“We are working to crack down on those who commit these horrendous attacks, help communities counter these twisted views, and are supporting vulnerable groups to feel safe and protected. We have committed £2.4m to protect places of worship, a further £1m for vulnerable faith institutions and £900,000 to support community projects. We are also engaging with groups to ensure we understand the public’s experience of hate crime, and make it easier for victims to come forward.”

Shadow Home Secretary Diane Abbott said: "This rise in hate crime is unacceptable, especially after a drop in police referrals has seen a fall in prosecutions.

"The Tories have made great claims about tackling burning injustices. But they are clearly not tackling the great injustice of being attacked simply because of your religion, your sexuality, the colour of your skin or your disability.

"Labour will hire 10,000 extra police to ensure there are sufficient officers working in the community who can help tackle crimes like this."