Four years ago, when Britain hosted the Olympic Games, the nation did so in the spirit of a multicultural society, celebrating the diversity of its many parts. The public embraced the success of foreign-born UK athletes such as Mo Farah every bit as much as they did those of native stock.
That generous spirit seems to have been one of the biggest casualties of the EU referendum campaign. In the week since the nation voted to leave the EU on June 23, True Vision, the online police website, has recorded 331 incidents of hate crime, a 500 per cent increase on the average. On social media there has been an ugly spike in chauvinism. Foreign-born schoolchildren have been abused in the street, and buildings associated with minorities defaced.
These outpourings may represent the views of only a tiny minority in a country of 65m. But before Britons take refuge in complacency, it is also worth noting that the data show they represent the acceleration of a latent, recent trend. According to Tell Mama, a website that tracks Islamophobia, there was a 370 per cent increase in anti-Muslim attacks last year. Anti-Semitic attacks also rose to near record levels.