Surge in London's race-hate crime

Race-hate crime in Tower Hamlets soared by 72 per cent last month in the aftermath of 11 September.

Police said they believed at least 17 incidents were directly motivated by the terror attacks. Eight victims were white, assaulted by Asian youths.

The number of race crimes rose to 100 in September, compared to 58 in the same month the previous year. In October the total was 96, compared to 75 in October 2000.

Oona King, Labour MP for Bethnal Green and Bow, said: "The point is that 11 September has polarised communities and when that happens you get these sort of attacks from both sides."

East London mosque manager Siraj Salekin said: "In the first few weeks after the attacks there was a lot of abuse and threats. We had a bomb threat at the mosque, hate mail and a threat to kill our imam."

But Chief Superintendent Rose Fitzpatrick said police had urged members of ethnic minorities to report all attacks: "As a result we expected the figures to increase."