Adiq Khan has said he was “shocked” to learn that Muslims are being bullied and harassed at work because of their religion.
The mayor of London spoke out on Monday after the London-based charity Islamophobia Response Unit told the BBC that Muslims had been stealing prayer mats and harassed at work because of their religion.
The Met told the Standard it recorded a 12 percent increase in hate crimes against Muslims in the past year, from 895 in 2020-21 to 1,000 for 2021-22.
Khan pledged to work with the Met Police against Islamophobia and said hate crimes in the capital “will not be tolerated”.
The Mayor of London said in a tweet: “Islamophobia is not tolerated in our city.
“I am shocked by the news today of Muslims being bullied and harassed at work because of their faith.
“I will continue to work with the Met to ensure a zero-tolerance approach to hate crime and that perpetrators are brought to justice.”
A survey by Savanta ComRes found that 69 percent of British Muslims currently employed said they had experienced some form of Islamophobia.
Data from the Met Police shows that Islamophobia hate crimes are most prevalent in the boroughs of Westminster, Tower Hamlets and Hackney.
Police said all reports of hate crimes are taken seriously.
A statement added: “We saw several spikes in the number of hate crimes reported in 2021.
“These increases were influenced by high-profile events that happened both here in the US and around the world. Nationally, there was a sharp increase following the easing of Covid-19 restrictions in the UK in spring and summer 2021.
“The increase in the number of registered hate crimes in recent years will also be driven by improvements in crime logging and a better understanding of what constitutes a hate crime.
“We want victims to be able to report with confidence all cases of hate crime and discrimination in any form, through a variety of available avenues, including third-party reporting.”