POLITICAL leaders from City of York Council have publicly condemned any form of racism and xenophobia in York.

They have released a statement following reports of a rise in hate crimes nationally, with initial police findings suggesting that the rate of reported hate crimes has risen recently by 57 per cent, as well reports of abuse in York in the last few days.

In a joinr statement, the party leaders Cllr David Carr, Cllr Keith Aspden, Cllr Janet Looker and Cllr Andy D’Agorne said: "We stand united to condemn any form of racism and xenophobia in York and we will not stand for hate crime.

"We will do everything in our power to clamp down on these kinds of attacks, whilst ensuring we have the support and resources needed to fight and prevent hate crime.We reassure all people living in York that they are all valued members of our community.

“We are continuing to work alongside North Yorkshire Police, Safer York Partnership and other agencies and urge people to report any hate crimes to the police via 101 non-emergency or 999 in an emergency. The Stop Hate UK helpline is also available on 0800 138 1625 and is staffed by trained operators 24-hours a day, or there is also an online chat service available on http://stophateuk.org/talk-to-us.”