Posters put up in an Essex town bearing the phrase “Islamists not welcome” are being treated as a hate crime, police have said.
Put up in several Rayleigh streets, they also warned targets to “stay back or we will kick you back”.
They displayed a symbol used by the pan-European white nationalist group Generation Identity alongside silhouette images of a mounted crusader chasing a pair of armed figures – one of whom is wearing a burqa.
Initially officers did not consider their presence a possible hate crime, according to the Southend Standard newspaper which first reported on the stickers.
But after being contacted by The Independent, an Essex Police spokeswoman said: “We are aware of stickers placed in various locations around Rayleigh displaying messages including ‘Islamists not welcome’. We are keen to speak to those responsible for them to discuss their intent. We are treating this as a hate incident.”
Source: Independent
