POLICE are appealing for witnesses or information to trace whoever plastered the ‘evil Christmas’ posters across London’s East End.

The posters which appeared around Poplar, Limehouse and Mile End feature a festive scene with the Star of Bethlehem over a Christmas tree—but underneath a banner headline decries “the evils of Xmas” in a mocking message of the ‘Twelve Days of Christmas’ festive carol.

It says Christmas leads to debt, rape, teenage pregnancies, abortion, blasphemy, exploitation, promiscuity, crime, paedophilia, paganism, domestic violence, homelessness, violence, vandalism, alcohol and drugs.

“We are treating this as a faith hate crime,” a police spokesman told the East London Advertiser.

“We would act in the same way if there were posters that were anti-Muslim or anti-Jewish—this one is anti-Christian.

“We are appealing for witnesses who may have seen them being put up or anyone with information about them to contact us.”

The posters were first spotted in the East End by the founder of Neighbours in Poplar charity Sister Christine Frost, who contacted police, the local MP and Tower Hamlets Council to get them removed.

“The more posters I saw, the more angry I got,” she said. “Someone is stirring hatred which leaves the road open to revenge attacks or petrol bombs through letter boxes. I told the Mayor we are all scared.

“If we said such things about Muslims, we’d all be hanging from lamp-posts.”

The posters are thought to be part of a national campaign organised by 27-year-old Abu Rumaysah, who once called for Sharia Law in Britain at a press conference held by the leader of the now-banned militant group Islam4UK.

His campaign claims “Christmas is a lie” and that it was the duty of Muslims to attack it, particularly the “fruits of Christmas” like alcohol abuse and promiscuity that leads to “all the other evils” such as abortion, domestic violence and crime.

But it has brought condemnation from former Labour minister Jim Fitzpatrick, the MP for the Poplar & Limehouse constituency in East London where the posters first appeared.

“These posters are extremely offensive and have upset a lot of people,” he said.

“They offend good people like Sister Christine who organises food and gifts to the elderly and the lonely in the East End at Christmas.

“She is rooted in the community and doesn’t take offence lightly—but these hate posters really upset her.”

Tower Hamlets mayor Lutfur Rahman issued a statement condemning the posters as “offensive” which he said did not reflect the views of the Council or the vast majority of residents. The posters had since been removed by council environment teams.

Sister Christine is now setting up an inter-faith group of volunteers after Christmas to counter extremism and raise awareness of the East End’s multi-culture.