UK hate crimes hit record high; Muslim-targeted offences up 15%

Home Office data shows 146,825 hate crimes in England and Wales in the year to March 2026, a 7% rise, with Muslim-targeted offences up 15% and antisemitic incidents up 10%. The increase reflects a sustained trend of rising religiously motivated hostility, with the government's Islamophobia partner noting escalating severity of attacks on mosques. This signals a deteriorating social cohesion environment, though the data is police-recorded and may undercount unreported incidents.