City Hall earmarks £875,000 to tackle hate crimes

London Mayor Sir Sadiq Khan has announced funding towards tackling hate crime

Mayor of London Sir Sadiq Khan has ringfenced £875,000 for more than 20 grassroots projects to fight hate crime, intolerance and extremism in London.

City Hall says the funding has been earmarked to tackle far-right and Islamic extremism while teaching young people how to safely intervene in hate crime and recognise harmful misinformation online.

Organisations which will receive funding include the West Ham United Foundation, the Anne Frank Trust and Tech Against Terrorism.

More than 21,200 hate crime incidents were recorded in London in the past 12 months, a reduction on the previous year, according to the Metropolitan Police.

But the mayor's office said the figures were still "unacceptably high".

Cdr Dominic Murphy, head of the Met's Counter Terrorism Command, said: "Our concerns over children and young adults being drawn into extremism and terrorism continue to grow.

"We're seeing record number of children in our casework and much of this is driven by what they are encountering online, with extremist and terrorist groups exploiting new and emerging technologies and channels to target and recruit those vulnerable to radicalisation."

The investment has been welcomed by anti-racism charities.

Majid Iqbal, CEO of the Islamophobia Response Unit, said: "Every Londoner deserves to feel safe and respected, free from hate or discrimination.

"This investment is a positive step, and we are ready to work with partners across the city to make equality and justice a lived reality."

The Anne Frank Trust said it would use the money to run workshops on antisemitism, Islamophobia and prejudice.

Judy Silkoff, acting co-chief executive of the trust, told the Jewish Chronicle: "Hate crime is rising across our city, and we are seeing prejudice first-hand in classrooms. This funding will allow us to reach thousands more young Londoners with workshops on antisemitism, Islamophobia and extreme misogyny."

'Uncertain times'

This latest funding announcement is part of Sir Sadiq's £16m Shared Endeavour Fund which was set up in 2020.

The fund has so far delivered 115 projects which aim to tackle Islamophobia and other types of hate crime.

Sir Sadiq said: "We are living in increasingly divisive and uncertain times and I know the worry and concern that this is having in our communities.

"That's why I'm committed to working in close partnership with communities and the police to ensure everyone in the capital feels, and is, safe and welcome."