Manchester attack: Islamophobic attacks up 500% in UK city since music concert terror attack

London: Islamophobic attacks in Manchester have registered a spike of nearly 500 percent since the terrorist attack at a concert venue in the heart of the city last month which claimed 22 lives, according to official figures. Greater Manchester Police (GMP) said there were 224 reports of anti-Muslim hate crimes in the month after the attack at an Ariana Grande concert at Manchester Arena compared with 37 in the same period in 2016. [caption id=“attachment_3493323” align=“alignleft” width=“380”] Representational image. AP[/caption] This marks a 505 percent rise in Islamophobic incidents as officers said they would take tough action to curb the increase in hate crimes. “Greater Manchester has a diverse population, with people from different faiths and backgrounds, and this is something that we are proud of. It’s what makes us the city we are. We will not tolerate hatred or discrimination of any kind,” said Rob Potts, assistant chief constable of GMP. “When a major tragedy occurs such as the attacks in Manchester and London, it is sadly not unusual for there to be a spike in hate crimes, specifically against a race and religion, but thankfully they do decrease again quickly,” he added. The figures released by GMP show religious hate crimes, including Islamophobia, jumped from 92 to 366 since the arena attack that killed 22 and injured 220 others on 22 May. Race hate crimes have jumped 61 percent, to 778 incidents, compared with the same four weeks last year. There is no official breakdown about the nature of the incidents but local businesses, mosques leaders and individuals have spoken about physical and verbal abuse.