NZ Herald
  • Home
  • Latest news
  • Herald NOW
  • Video
  • New Zealand
  • Sport
  • World
  • Business
  • Entertainment
  • Podcasts
  • Quizzes
  • Opinion
  • Lifestyle
  • Travel
  • Viva
  • Weather

Subscriptions

  • Herald Premium
  • Viva Premium
  • The Listener
  • BusinessDesk

Sections

  • Latest news
  • New Zealand
    • All New Zealand
    • Crime
    • Politics
    • Education
    • Open Justice
    • Scam Update
  • Herald NOW
  • On The Up
  • World
    • All World
    • Australia
    • Asia
    • UK
    • United States
    • Middle East
    • Europe
    • Pacific
  • Business
    • All Business
    • MarketsSharesCurrencyCommoditiesStock TakesCrypto
    • Markets with Madison
    • Media Insider
    • Business analysis
    • Personal financeKiwiSaverInterest ratesTaxInvestment
    • EconomyInflationGDPOfficial cash rateEmployment
    • Small business
    • Business reportsMood of the BoardroomProject AucklandSustainable business and financeCapital markets reportAgribusiness reportInfrastructure reportDynamic business
    • Deloitte Top 200 Awards
    • CompaniesAged CareAgribusinessAirlinesBanking and financeConstructionEnergyFreight and logisticsHealthcareManufacturingMedia and MarketingRetailTelecommunicationsTourism
  • Opinion
    • All Opinion
    • Analysis
    • Editorials
    • Business analysis
    • Premium opinion
    • Letters to the editor
  • Politics
  • Sport
    • All Sport
    • OlympicsParalympics
    • RugbySuper RugbyNPCAll BlacksBlack FernsRugby sevensSchool rugby
    • CricketBlack CapsWhite Ferns
    • Racing
    • NetballSilver Ferns
    • LeagueWarriorsNRL
    • FootballWellington PhoenixAuckland FCAll WhitesFootball FernsEnglish Premier League
    • GolfNZ Open
    • MotorsportFormula 1
    • Boxing
    • UFC
    • BasketballNBABreakersTall BlacksTall Ferns
    • Tennis
    • Cycling
    • Athletics
    • SailingAmerica's CupSailGP
    • Rowing
  • Lifestyle
    • All Lifestyle
    • Viva - Food, fashion & beauty
    • Society Insider
    • Royals
    • Sex & relationships
    • Food & drinkRecipesRecipe collectionsRestaurant reviewsRestaurant bookings
    • Health & wellbeing
    • Fashion & beauty
    • Pets & animals
    • The Selection - Shop the trendsShop fashionShop beautyShop entertainmentShop giftsShop home & living
    • Milford's Investing Place
  • Entertainment
    • All Entertainment
    • TV
    • MoviesMovie reviews
    • MusicMusic reviews
    • BooksBook reviews
    • Culture
    • ReviewsBook reviewsMovie reviewsMusic reviewsRestaurant reviews
  • Travel
    • All Travel
    • News
    • New ZealandNorthlandAucklandWellingtonCanterburyOtago / QueenstownNelson-TasmanBest NZ beaches
    • International travelAustraliaPacific IslandsEuropeUKUSAAfricaAsia
    • Rail holidays
    • Cruise holidays
    • Ski holidays
    • Luxury travel
    • Adventure travel
  • Kāhu Māori news
  • Environment
    • All Environment
    • Our Green Future
  • Talanoa Pacific news
  • Property
    • All Property
    • Property Insider
    • Interest rates tracker
    • Residential property listings
    • Commercial property listings
  • Health
  • Technology
    • All Technology
    • AI
    • Social media
  • Rural
    • All Rural
    • Dairy farming
    • Sheep & beef farming
    • Horticulture
    • Animal health
    • Rural business
    • Rural life
    • Rural technology
    • Opinion
    • Audio & podcasts
  • Weather forecasts
    • All Weather forecasts
    • Kaitaia
    • Whangārei
    • Dargaville
    • Auckland
    • Thames
    • Tauranga
    • Hamilton
    • Whakatāne
    • Rotorua
    • Tokoroa
    • Te Kuiti
    • Taumaranui
    • Taupō
    • Gisborne
    • New Plymouth
    • Napier
    • Hastings
    • Dannevirke
    • Whanganui
    • Palmerston North
    • Levin
    • Paraparaumu
    • Masterton
    • Wellington
    • Motueka
    • Nelson
    • Blenheim
    • Westport
    • Reefton
    • Kaikōura
    • Greymouth
    • Hokitika
    • Christchurch
    • Ashburton
    • Timaru
    • Wānaka
    • Oamaru
    • Queenstown
    • Dunedin
    • Gore
    • Invercargill
  • Meet the journalists
  • Promotions & competitions
  • OneRoof property listings
  • Driven car news

Puzzles & Quizzes

  • Puzzles
    • All Puzzles
    • Sudoku
    • Code Cracker
    • Crosswords
    • Cryptic crossword
    • Wordsearch
  • Quizzes
    • All Quizzes
    • Morning quiz
    • Afternoon quiz
    • Sports quiz

Regions

  • Northland
    • All Northland
    • Far North
    • Kaitaia
    • Kerikeri
    • Kaikohe
    • Bay of Islands
    • Whangarei
    • Dargaville
    • Kaipara
    • Mangawhai
  • Auckland
  • Waikato
    • All Waikato
    • Hamilton
    • Coromandel & Hauraki
    • Matamata & Piako
    • Cambridge
    • Te Awamutu
    • Tokoroa & South Waikato
    • Taupō & Tūrangi
  • Bay of Plenty
    • All Bay of Plenty
    • Katikati
    • Tauranga
    • Mount Maunganui
    • Pāpāmoa
    • Te Puke
    • Whakatāne
  • Rotorua
  • Hawke's Bay
    • All Hawke's Bay
    • Napier
    • Hastings
    • Havelock North
    • Central Hawke's Bay
    • Wairoa
  • Taranaki
    • All Taranaki
    • Stratford
    • New Plymouth
    • Hāwera
  • Manawatū - Whanganui
    • All Manawatū - Whanganui
    • Whanganui
    • Palmerston North
    • Manawatū
    • Tararua
    • Horowhenua
  • Wellington
    • All Wellington
    • Kapiti
    • Wairarapa
    • Upper Hutt
    • Lower Hutt
  • Nelson & Tasman
    • All Nelson & Tasman
    • Motueka
    • Nelson
    • Tasman
  • Marlborough
  • West Coast
  • Canterbury
    • All Canterbury
    • Kaikōura
    • Christchurch
    • Ashburton
    • Timaru
  • Otago
    • All Otago
    • Oamaru
    • Dunedin
    • Balclutha
    • Alexandra
    • Queenstown
    • Wanaka
  • Southland
    • All Southland
    • Invercargill
    • Gore
    • Stewart Island
  • Gisborne

Media

  • Video
    • All Video
    • NZ news video
    • Herald NOW
    • Business news video
    • Politics news video
    • Sport video
    • World news video
    • Lifestyle video
    • Entertainment video
    • Travel video
    • Markets with Madison
    • Kea Kids news
  • Podcasts
    • All Podcasts
    • The Front Page
    • On the Tiles
    • Ask me Anything
    • The Little Things
  • Cartoons
  • Photo galleries
  • Today's Paper - E-editions
  • Photo sales
  • Classifieds

NZME Network

  • Advertise with NZME
  • OneRoof
  • Driven Car Guide
  • BusinessDesk
  • Newstalk ZB
  • Sunlive
  • ZM
  • The Hits
  • Coast
  • Radio Hauraki
  • The Alternative Commentary Collective
  • Gold
  • Flava
  • iHeart Radio
  • Hokonui
  • Radio Wanaka
  • iHeartCountry New Zealand
  • Restaurant Hub
  • NZME Events

SubscribeSign In
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.
Home / World

Police investigate offensive cards as social media users report alleged racism following Brexit vote

By Victoria Craw
news.com.au·
27 Jun, 2016 06:03 PM5 mins to read

Subscribe to listen

Access to Herald Premium articles require a Premium subscription. Subscribe now to listen.
Already a subscriber?  Sign in here

Listening to articles is free for open-access content—explore other articles or learn more about text-to-speech.
‌
Save

    Share this article

/Cards being put through the letter boxes of Polish families in Huntingdon. Photo / howgilb Twitter

/Cards being put through the letter boxes of Polish families in Huntingdon. Photo / howgilb Twitter

UK police are appealing for information after anti-immigrant cards were distributed in a village near Cambridge immediately after the UK voted to leave the European Union.

It's one in a series of incidents around the country following the vote that has led to fears of a steep surge in hate crime that could affect the country.

Over the weekend cards were distributed to cars near a school and properties in Huntingson saying "Leave the EU No More Polish Vermin" (sic) according to pictures posted online.

Cambridgeshire Detective Superintendent Martin Brunning said police are working to find those behind them who could face seven years in prison for inciting racial hatred.

"We are working closely with the affected community and are doing everything possible to ensure those responsible are caught," he said.

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

"Any reports of hate crime in the county will be fully investigated and it is vitally important that anyone who has received these leaflets or suffered similar abuse reports it."

And here's the Polish version which they helpfully produced. Police are investigating pic.twitter.com/v61seOkOm3

— fencelt (@howgilb) June 25, 2016

Local resident Daniel Guz - who was at the Huntingdon meeting - said he was reassured at how seriously it is being taken.

"The community are obviously feeling upset by this and we must offer all the support we can to the police to help them catch the people who did this.

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

"It's really important that we help the police to do their job and make sure nothing else happens to cause more problems."

It's one in a series of incidents around the country that also saw a Polish community centre in London tagged with graffiti and a protest outside a mosque in Birmingham where men were pictured holding banners saying "rapefugees" not welcome.

Police were also investigating reports of a racially-charged assault in east London after a man claimed to have come to the aid of a pair of Polish men who were injured on Saturday.

2pm today in Sheldon near Solihull West Midlands. Banner says "RAPEFUGEES NOT WELCOME" And they made Nazi salutes. pic.twitter.com/DdYHCPX3uD

— Media Diversified (@WritersofColour) June 25, 2016

Others have taken to social media to share their experience of racism in the country that has been divided by a bitter debate on immigration during the EU referendum campaign.

Discover more

Business

Recession likely in Britain within a year

27 Jun 01:55 AM
Retail

Consumer spending dived in UK post-Brexit

27 Jun 05:45 AM
Opinion

Leavers got more than they bargained for

27 Jun 05:00 PM

Facebook user Natasha Blank created a public group Worrying Signs which provides a space for people to publish pictures of their experience.

Remain voter Sarah Childs has collated social media posts into an album and said the "vote has made it less safe to have been born elsewhere, and to be black or Asian".

"We need a plan for how we're going to fix this as well as the economics."

The posts have struck a chord with many who feel the outcome has divided the country even further.

James Robert Strange Mortimer wrote: "This referendum has really brought out the worst in Britain ... do you reckon it's all an elaborate ploy to get the racists to reveal themselves so they can be put under surveillance and spirited away in the dead of night?"

Others have shared their experience online on Twitter with one user saying he was shocked by the vitriolic backlash.

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

Been standing here five minutes. Three different people have shouted "send them home". pic.twitter.com/cVvmYvC73o

— Ciaran Jenkins (@C4Ciaran) June 24, 2016

Daughter tells me someone wrote "[Child's name] go back to Romania" on the wall in the girls toilets at School today. 😢

— James Titcombe (@JamesTitcombe) June 24, 2016

Wow... inundated with really hateful tweets following my earlier one re the incident at my daughters school. I'll RT some.

— James Titcombe (@JamesTitcombe) June 24, 2016

Collation of bigotry & #Islamophobia cases post-#EURef, which seems to be fuelling, not placating, racists #worrying pic.twitter.com/1s9orNYUIL

— Miqdaad Versi (@miqdaad) June 25, 2016

Gloucester @Tesco: 'this is England, foreigners have 48 hours to f**k right off. Who is foreign here? Anyone foreign?' #Brexit

— Max Fras (@maxfras) June 24, 2016

Politicians in the UK are still grappling with how to deal with fallout from the shock result that saw the UK vote to leave the European Union 52 per cent to 48 per cent

The turmoil continued on Monday with financial markets falling upon news 14 Labour cabinet ministers had also resigned in protest over Jeremy Corbyn's leadership.

Conservatives are also canvassing for their new leader after the resignation of UK Prime Minister David Cameron.

On Monday Vote Leave campaigner Boris Johnson sought to build bridges with Europe, saying the country was still a "part of Europe" and he would seek to "intensify" relations in the near term.

"I cannot stress too much that Britain is part of Europe," he wrote in Britain's Daily Telegraph.

"The only change - and it will not come in any great rush - is that the UK will extricate itself from the EU's extraordinary and opaque system of legislation."

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

Brexiteers have also backed away from key pledges on immigration and the amount that could be saved by not being part of the single market, sparking criticism about the lack of planning that had gone into what would happen if the Leave vote won.

Save

    Share this article

Latest from World

World

Israel strikes dozens of Tehran targets in aggressive overnight raids

20 Jun 08:29 AM
World

Trump to decide on Iran invasion within two weeks

World

Tensions rise: Hospital, nuclear sites targeted in Iran-Israel conflict

20 Jun 06:49 AM

Jono and Ben brew up a tea-fuelled adventure in Sri Lanka

sponsored
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

Latest from World

Israel strikes dozens of Tehran targets in aggressive overnight raids

Israel strikes dozens of Tehran targets in aggressive overnight raids

20 Jun 08:29 AM

More than 60 fighter jets hit alleged missile production sites in Tehran.

Trump to decide on Iran invasion within two weeks

Trump to decide on Iran invasion within two weeks

Tensions rise: Hospital, nuclear sites targeted in Iran-Israel conflict

Tensions rise: Hospital, nuclear sites targeted in Iran-Israel conflict

20 Jun 06:49 AM
Teacher sacked after sending 35,000 messages to ex-student before relationship

Teacher sacked after sending 35,000 messages to ex-student before relationship

20 Jun 05:55 AM
Help for those helping hardest-hit
sponsored

Help for those helping hardest-hit

NZ Herald
  • About NZ Herald
  • Meet the journalists
  • Newsletters
  • Classifieds
  • Help & support
  • Contact us
  • House rules
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms of use
  • Competition terms & conditions
  • Our use of AI
Subscriber Services
  • NZ Herald e-editions
  • Daily puzzles & quizzes
  • Manage your digital subscription
  • Manage your print subscription
  • Subscribe to the NZ Herald newspaper
  • Subscribe to Herald Premium
  • Gift a subscription
  • Subscriber FAQs
  • Subscription terms & conditions
  • Promotions and subscriber benefits
NZME Network
  • The New Zealand Herald
  • The Northland Age
  • The Northern Advocate
  • Waikato Herald
  • Bay of Plenty Times
  • Rotorua Daily Post
  • Hawke's Bay Today
  • Whanganui Chronicle
  • Viva
  • NZ Listener
  • Newstalk ZB
  • BusinessDesk
  • OneRoof
  • Driven Car Guide
  • iHeart Radio
  • Restaurant Hub
NZME
  • About NZME
  • NZME careers
  • Advertise with NZME
  • Digital self-service advertising
  • Book your classified ad
  • Photo sales
  • NZME Events
  • © Copyright 2025 NZME Publishing Limited
TOP