Piers Morgan brands safety pin campaign to show solidarity with immigrants in the UK 'utterly absurd'

People are wearing safety pins on their clothes in a bid to help immigrants feel safer after a reported increase in racist and xenophobic incidents

ITV's Life Stories presenter Piers Morgan (Getty Images)

Piers Morgan has branded a campaign asking people to wear a safety pin as a show of solidarity with immigrants living in the UK “utterly absurd” and suggested the display is more about people having to prove they are not racist.

The shock vote for a Brexit in the EU referendum has been followed by a sharp rise in reported hate crimes. The National Police Chief’s Council said reports made to an online hate crime reporting site were up by 57 per cent compared to a month ago.

A number of disturbing accounts of racist and xenophobic incidents have emerged in recent days.

In one incident, video footage captured in Manchester showed a verbal attack on a passenger in a tram, during which a teenager was filmed telling the victim: “Don't chat s**t when you're not even from England, you little f**king immigrant. Get off the f**king tram now. Get back to Africa.”

Allison, a US citizen living in London, has reacted to the racist abuse by launching a simple initiative to help other concerned members of the public show immigrants living in Britain they stand with them.

She is asking people to wear an empty safety pin to express their solidarity against racism and xenophobia, telling Indy100: “It's just a little signal that shows people facing hate crimes that they're not alone and their right to be in the UK is supported.”

The concept has gained traction overnight and people are sharing safety-pin selfies on Twitter to encourage others to follow suit.

But while the focus of campaign is about helping those at risk of being targeted by racism or xenophobia feel safer, Morgan has dismissed it, claiming he doesn’t need to wear a safety pin “to prove I'm not a half-wit”.

The Good Morning Britain presenter was accused of missing the point of the campaign by exasperated Twitter users.

“It's not about you,” read one reply. “It’s about making others feel safer in an increasingly unfriendly environment."

“We're not halfwits,” said another. “We’re wearing a #safetypin to show solidarity with the UK's immigrant population and against halfwit racists.”

User Tom Moorfield added: “#safetypin is obviously not about proving you're not a racist. It's about showing that you disapprove of the people who are.”