A VICIOUS racist attack on two elderly Sikh men in Wolverhampton shows Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer is failing in his promise to tackle anti-Sikh hate, campaigners said today.

The men, aged in their sixties and seventies and both taxi drivers, were brutally assaulted outside Wolverhampton train station on Friday in an incident captured on video that went viral over the weekend.

One victim can be seen on the ground without his turban, while the other is repeatedly punched and kicked.

The victim on the ground later recalled how they were abused and called the P-word.

Police later confirmed that three men were arrested and released on bail the following day.

Sikh campaigners warned of a sharp rise in anti-Sikh hate crimes across Britain since Labour came to power, often targeting children and older people, and linked it to the mainstreaming of anti-immigration rhetoric.

Sikh Federation UK’s Dabinderjit Singh said: “Keir Starmer, in his efforts to appeal to Reform UK voters, needs to accept he has unwittingly unleashed a level of hate with his irresponsible ‘island of strangers’ immigration speech.

“This also appears to be preventing him and the Labour government from delivering on their specific promise before the general election to treat anti-Sikh hate on a par with anti-semitism and Islamophobia.”

Jas Singh of the Sikh Federation added: “This incident must be treated as a religious and racially aggravated hate crime, as this is exactly what it is.

“A brutal racist attack by three young men on two elderly Sikh taxi drivers without any provocation.”

He urged the government to act on recommendations made nearly five years ago by the all-party parliamentary group for British Sikhs to address anti-Sikh hate.

Sending solidarity to the victims, Stand Up to Racism co-convener Sabby Dhalu said: “This horrific racist attack took place in the context of the most racist political climate in decades, with Reform UK, the Tories and the Labour government attempting to ‘out-racist’ one another.

“As night follows day, racism at the top leads to violent racism on the ground and racism towards one group of people — refugees — leads to racism towards all Asian, African, Caribbean and immigrant communities.”

The government was approached for comment.