U.K. Announces New Plan to Tackle Hate Crimes

LONDON—Prime Minister David Cameron said Wednesday that the U.K. was stepping up its response to hate crimes and called on both sides of the referendum debate to “utterly condemn them”—amid a recent rise in reported hate-crime incidents after the U.K. voted to leave the European Union.

Addressing Parliament in his weekly debate with opposition lawmakers, Mr. Cameron said there was evidence that racist incidents were increasing, including in the last few days.

Since the referendum, British police have received 57% more complaints to their online hate-crime reporting portal compared to a similar period last month, said Karen Bradley, a lawmaker in Mr. Cameron’s government and a minister in the Home Office. Between Thursday June 23 and Sunday 26 June, 85 reports were made to the portal, said Ms. Bradley, which she said contrasted with 54 reports in the corresponding four-day period four weeks earlier.