There has been a rise in the number of anti-Semitic incidents recorded in the UK in the first six months of 2016, a Jewish charity has said.

The Community Safety Trust, which work towards protecting Jewish communities in Britain from hate crime, said the rise was most pronounced in April, May and June when there was significant public debate over anti-Semitism in the Labour party.

In the first six months of 2016, the charity recorded 557 anti-Semitic incidents. Around a quarter of these were carried out on social media sites.

The charity's chief executive David Delew said reversing the rise would take "real leadership" from politicians.

Delew said: "This rise in reported anti-Semitism comes at a time when division, intolerance and prejudice appear to be deepening within our society.

"Reversing this worrying trend requires real leadership from all political parties, and for the social media companies to take their share of the responsibility."

In response to the report, home secretary Amber Rudd called the rise "deplorable".

She said: "I condemn the deplorable rise in anti-Semitic hate incidents in the first half of this year and will continue to work with law enforcement partners and with the Jewish community to ensure their safety and security.

"It is vital that every community which contributes to making us Great Britain has the protection it needs.

"This is why the government is providing £13.4m of funding for security measures at Jewish sites and why last week I published our Hate Crime Action Plan, setting out a series of measures to prevent vile attacks such as these."