Brexit: Sterling falls to 31-year low, 57% rise in hate crime

An attempt yesterday by Britain's chancellor of the exchequer George Osborne to calm financial markets in the wake of the referendum was fruitless.

Sterling fell to a 31-year low against the dollar, yields on 10-year government bonds fell below 1 per cent for the first time and some share trading was temporarily halted.

Shares in banks, airlines and housebuilders were worst hit, with Barclays closing down 17.4 per cent, Royal Bank of Scotland falling by more than 15 per cent and EasyJet tumbling by more than 22 per cent.

David Cameron, who said on Friday that he would step down as prime minister as soon as a new Conservative leader is chosen, told MPs yesterday that he stood by all he had said during the campaign. But he ruled out holding a second referendum to reverse the decision and announced that a special unit in government had been set up to prepare for negotiations to exit the EU.

Mr Cameron said that it will be for his successor to invoke Article 50 of the EU treaty and to determine Britain’s negotiating position.

Police in Britain are investigating a spate of racist and xenophobic incidents since the referendum, including the daubing of graffiti on the walls of a Polish cultural centre in London.

The National Police Chiefs’ Council said reports to a police online hate-crime reporting site increased by 57 per cent between Thursday and Sunday, compared to previous weeks.

“In the past few days we have seen despicable graffiti daubed on a Polish community centre. We’ve seen verbal abuse hurled against individuals because they are members of ethnic minorities. Let’s remember these people have come here and made a wonderful contribution to our country. And we will not stand for hate crime or these kinds of attacks. They must be stamped out,” Mr Cameron said.

“We can reassure European citizens living here, and Brits living in European countries, that there will be no immediate changes in their circumstances. Neither will there be any initial change in the way our people can travel, in the way our goods can move, or the way our services can be sold.”

Boris Johnson, the favourite to succeed Mr Cameron as prime minister, said yesterday that, although he favoured controls on immigration, the issue was not the primary one in the referendum campaign.

He said there would be no change in the status of EU citizens now living in Britain and condemned the xenophobic attacks.

“Hate crime of any kind is inexcusable and must be met with the full force of the law. Britain is an open, tolerant and friendly society that welcomes people from across the globe. That spirit of openness and diversity must never change and will never change. The actions of a bigoted minority will not be tolerated,” he said.

The new leader of the Conservative party should be in place by September 2nd, the backbench 1922 committee said yesterday.

Nominations will open on Wednesday and MPs will hold a series of ballots to select two candidates who will contest the leadership among the broader party membership.

Apart from Mr Johnson, likely candidates include home secretary Theresa May and work and pensions secretary Stephen Crabb.

Chancellor of the exchequer George Osborne, once tipped as a successor to Mr Cameron, has not ruled out a leadership bid, although his star has fallen dramatically in the course of the referendum campaign.