Express & Star comment: All should walk the streets without fear

Across the country more than 260 offences of this nature were recorded in the first three months of the year, including assaults, robberies, harassment and criminal damage.

And here in the West Midlands, where Chinese people make up one of the smallest minority groups, hate crimes have also surged.

The disgraceful incidents include two racist graffiti attacks on a Chinese takeaway in the Black Country.

Naturally, there are perfectly reasonable concerns over the role of the Chinese state in the coronavirus outbreak.

In particular, it is quite right to ask questions over whether the Chinese government concealed information which could have helped limit the impact of the pandemic on the rest of the world.

However, it takes a special kind of idiot to believe that Chinese people living in the UK have had anything to do with the virus.

The fact that all forms of hate crime have risen to record levels during the lockdown period is something that we should all be concerned about.

The country is coming to the end of the most testing period in its recent history. Thousands of people have died and many others have suffered serious illness.

Many families have lost loved ones.

It is highly likely that challenges of equal magnitude lie ahead, with mass unemployment seemingly inevitable and a second wave of the virus a very real possibility.

Our economy has suffered a hit that even in the eyes of the most optimistic experts, will take years to recover from.

Now more than ever Britain needs to be a united country.

All minority groups should feel safe to walk the streets without fear of abuse or attack.

The West Midlands is one of the most tolerant parts of the country, with people from all different backgrounds living side by side.

Our community spirit is second to none, and has really come to the fore in the fight against the pandemic.

We must never let the intolerant few ruin things for the rest of us.