Hardworking Poles living in the UK must be protected from hate crimes, Polish foreign minister Witold Waszczykowski said after meeting with senior cabinet members in response to a wave of post-Brexit violence. Mr Waszczykowski and Poland’s home affairs minister Mariusz Blaszczak met their British counterparts Boris Johnson and Amber Rudd following the series of “unjustified attacks” against people of Polish origin in the UK after the “very heated” campaign preceding the country’s vote to leave the European Union (EU). These include the killing of Polish man Arkadiusz Jozwik in Harlow, Essex, and the physical assault of two Polish men within hours of a vigil for Mr Jozwik.
The Polish Embassy in London said its consuls have intervened 15 times in recent weeks over reports of xenophobic incidents. Mr Waszczykowski said: “Once again I would like to reiterate: the Polish community, the overwhelming majority of them are people who are hardworking, intelligent, smart.
“They are contributing to the society, to the community, to the economy, they are paying taxes – they deserve to be protected.”
In a meeting on Monday evening which lasted over one hour, the ministers discussed the steps that need to be taken to provide security for Poles living in the UK. The Polish ministers said they were grateful that Prime Minister Theresa May, Mr Johnson and Ms Rudd had condemned the attacks.
They added they were confident the recent spate of violence was “an original phenomenon” that would not be repeated.
There will be a meeting on Tuesday between the Polish and Essex police in Essex, they said.