The Southwark Council assembly has adopted the All-Party Parliamentary Group working definition of Islamophobia.

It comes as Labour and Lib Dem councillors call on the cabinet to do more to help minorities and women – including pushing for misogyny to become a hate crime.

The adopted definition of Islamophobia reads: “Islamophobia is rooted in racism and is a type of racism that targets expressions of Muslimness or perceived Muslimness.”

There were 788 incidents of hate crime in Southwark in 2018, while race hate crime across the city rose from from 8,000 incidents in 2012 to almost 18,000 this year.

Sexual orientation hate crime across London has almost doubled in five years, from 1,092 incidents in 2014 to 2,048 incidents this year

In an emotional speech, Lib Dem Cllr Humaira Ali spoke about the impacts of Brexit and at the Christchurch mosque attack on minority groups.

She said: “Nationally our politicians have been guilty of creating an enemy where there is none for their own gais…pandering to a minority by telling immigrants to go home by the messaging on the sides of vans and talking about cuts to our immigration.

“Most recently the Brexit vote has outright enabled racist and misogynistic acts.

“And then on March 15 this year the most heinous of crimes took place in Christchurch, New Zealand. Fifty-one people were murdered whilst praying.”

The motion also criticised the “lack of leadership across Parliament” to confront discrimination.

The cabinet will now consider calls it should push the government to make misogyny-driven attacks a hate crime, as the Law Commission reviews hate crime laws.

Labour Cllr Alice Macdonald said it was important for misogyny to become a hate crime.

Misogyny involves showing dislike, contempt or ingrained prejudice against women.

“Under the law, misogyny is not recognised. We have the opportunity to change that and it is currently being reviewed,” she said.

The motion also called on the cabinet to establish diversity champions, and work with Transport for London on how to make public transport a safe

place for all users.

In 2017 the council assembly voted unanimously to adopt the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance (IHRA) definition of antisemitism.