By Harriet Sherwood

Religion correspondent

The mayor of London and the UK’s biggest Muslim organisation have separately warned against a spike in racist abuse in the aftermath of the EU referendum. The Polish embassy in the UK said it was shocked at incidents of xenophobic abuse directed at members of its community in the past few days.

Sadiq Khan, who was elected as mayor last month, said he had put the capital’s police on alert for racially motivated incidents. “It’s really important we stand guard against any rise in hate crimes or abuse by those who might use last week’s referendum as cover to seek to divide us,” he said.

“I’ve asked our police to be extra vigilant for any rise in cases of hate crime, and I’m calling on all Londoners to pull together and rally behind this great city.” .

Khan also warned against the demonisation of people who voted to leave the EU: “It’s also crucial that we don’t demonise the 1.5 million people in London who voted for Brexit. While I and millions of others disagreed with their decision, they took it for a variety of reasons and this shouldn’t be used to accuse them of being xenophobic or racist. We must respect their decision and work together now to get the best deal for London.”

The Muslim Council of Britain urged political and civic leaders to heal divisions exposed by last week’s vote. It said: “In the past few days, we have witnessed shocking manifestations of hate speech not only online but also on our streets.”

The umbrella organisation has compiled a dossier of 100 reported racist and Islamophobic incidents since the result of the referendum was announced on Friday.

It had logged “many reports of Muslims and others being taunted with ‘go back home!’ or similar sentiments”.

The warnings came as a man was charged with two racially aggravated public order offences after the far-right English Defence League protested outside a mosque in Birmingham at the weekend.

Thomas Johnson, 30, was also charged with two counts of threatening behaviour and obstructing a police officer. He was due to appear before Birmingham magistrates on Monday.

Police seized a banner with an allegedly offensive slogan as about 30 people protested outside the mosque.

After a spate of alleged xenophobic incidents over the weekend, the Polish embassy issued a statement expressing its shock and deep concern.

Reported incidents included graffiti sprayed on to the walls of a west London Polish community centre and cards reading “no more Polish vermin” posted through letterboxes.

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