Muslims are being targetted by acid attackers in London

Fears have been heightened after 21-year-old aspiring model Resham Khan and her cousin Jameel Muhktar, 37, suffered horrific injuries when an attacker squirted acid through their car window in Newham, east London, on 21 June. Police initially said they had no evidence the attack was racially or religiously motivated.

They reclassified it as a hate crime, however, after Muhktar insisted Islamophobia was involved, and after posts expressing sympathy for the far-right were allegedly found on the Facebook page of John Tomlin, 24, who is being sought for questioning in relation to the incident.

As news of the attack spread, social media users began to report other acid attacks, with some speculating that Muslims or people of Asian appearance were being targeted.

The incidents included a man of Asian origin having a noxious substance squirted at him while driving in Commercial Road, Tower Hamlets, on Thursday, with the attackers stealing his car as soon as he got out to seek help.

There were also social media reports of two attacks in East Ham on Friday – one involving a woman being partially burned on her doorstep by someone pretending to be a delivery man, and the other of a woman being targeted by moped-driving acid attackers in the Plashet Grove area. Fears about what was happening led to east London residents calling an emergency meeting on Sunday evening that was attended by Tower Hamlets mayor John Biggs.

He listened as the resident chairing the meeting said: "These attacks are happening on our doorsteps. Our women, our men, our youngsters are feeling unsafe. They are scared to come out of their homes."