May offers condolences to Czech PM over man's death in London

Theresa May has offered her "sincere condolences" to the Czech prime minister after the death of a Czech national in London.

Zdenek Makar, 31, was pronounced dead in the street near All Saints DLR station in Poplar on September 21.

Mrs May offered condolences to her Czech counterpart Bohuslav Sobotka in a telephone call, said a Downing Street spokesman.

He added: "She said that while we understood this particular incident was not considered to be a hate crime, the UK Government condemned hate crime in the strongest way possible and it had no place in British society."

Raymond Sculley, 29, of Sherman House in Aberfeldy Street, Poplar, has been charged in connection with Mr Makar's death.

Two others, a man aged 19 and a 16-year-old boy, have been bailed until early October pending further investigations.

It comes amid concern over rising incidents of hate crime after the EU referendum.

The latest set of figures from the National Police Chiefs' Council, released earlier this month, showed a 49% rise in incidents in the last week in July, compared with the previous year.

Earlier this month Mrs May expressed her "deep regret" over attacks on Polish citizens living in the UK in a phone call to her counterpart in Warsaw.

The Prime Minister told Beata Szydlo that "hate crime has no place in UK society", Downing Street said.

Three Polish ministers have also made an urgent visit to the UK following attacks on Polish men.

During Mrs May's phone conversation with Czech PM Mr Sobotka, she also pledged to retain strong ties with EU countries after Brexit.

The PM added that Britain would not be triggering Article 50 before the end of the year.