Ludlow councillor's shock at 'open racism' in town since Brexit

Andy Boddington, Shropshire councillor for Ludlow South, said he was shocked at open racism being expressed in Ludlow in recent days and saddened to hear of an incident in the town in the past week where an ethnic minority couple were told they were not welcome.

He said: "Ludlow is a tolerant and friendly town but on Thursday we had an incident of racial hate crime.

"A couple were visiting our town as part of a tour of the nice places in this part of the world. I am not going to give details, which I will pass on to the police, but they were subject to a comment along the lines of 'people like you are not welcome here'.

"I do not know if this disgraceful remark reflected a change in mood amongst some people in our nation after Brexit. Media reports suggest a minority feel the Brexit vote has given them a mandate to abuse people who have migrated here or were born here but don't meet some stupid 'white norm' in their tiny minds. No one should be abused because of the colour of his or her skin or where they were born."

Shropshire Council has issued a statement, signed by leaders of Conservative, Liberal Democrat, Labour and Independent groups, following the EU vote.

It says: "This council believes following the result of the EU referendum on June 23 some people appear to feel they have a mandate to air their hatred of people from other backgrounds, races and cultures.

"We are also witnessing other extremism, some of it violent. Thankfully, there has been no evidence of this in Shropshire in recent weeks, which may be attributed to the tolerant and inclusive disposition of the overwhelming majority of our residents.

"We are proud to live in a diverse and tolerant society. Nonetheless, Shropshire Council sends out a clear message all forms of racism and hate crime are unacceptable."