I’d love to believe the claim in the headline, but it comes from a Tory-controlled Home Office, so I’m afraid it isn’t worth the time it took to write it.

But then, I have been reporting on the rise in disability hate crime, more or less since the government started recording it.

So, on August 14, 2012, I had to report that “hate crime against disabled people has hit its highest level since records began, totalling 1,942 recorded incidents in 2011, an increase of more than 25 per cent – that means it’s up by more than a quarter – on the total for 2010”.

The reason, in my opinion? “It’s the logical result of the government’s effort to demonise disabled people and those who claim benefits on their behalf“.

By 2015, the number of reports had soared again – this time by 25 per cent in a single year.

I wrote: “Figures published by the Home Office reveal that 2,508 disability motivated hate crimes were reported and recorded by the police in 2014/15, up 25% from 2,006 in 2013/14.”

And in February this year, it was revealed that disability hate crime had rocketed by 213 per cent between 2010 and 2015.

This year’s total – and this is just recorded hate crimes against people with disabilities, remember – is 5,558. That’s a 53 per cent rise since 2015-16.

And the Home Office wants you to think it isn’t because of Tory “scroungers and skivers v strivers” rhetoric but because the police have improved their recording of these crimes (despite the huge cuts in operational ability inflicted by Theresa May) and more people are coming forward?

I should cocoa.

It’s because people have become increasingly emboldened and think they can attack the vulnerable without fear of punishment.

The number of hate crimes in England and Wales has increased by 29%, according to Home Office statistics.

There were 80,393 offences in 2016-17, compared with 62,518 in 2015-16 – the largest increase since the Home Office began recording figures in 2011-12.

The biggest rise was in disability and transgender hate crimes, but this was due to better crime recording and more people coming forward, the report said.

It also noted a spike in hate crime around the time of the EU referendum.

There were also rises after the Westminster Bridge, Manchester Arena and London Bridge attacks this year.

Source: Rise in hate crime in England and Wales – BBC News

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