BRITISH politicians have been accused by a United Nations body of using "divisive" and "anti-immigrant" rhetoric during the EU referendum, which, it claimed, had helped to fuel a spike in race hate crimes in the weeks before and after the historic June 23 vote.

The accusation has come from the UN’s committee on the elimination of racial discrimination, which claimed leading political figures in the UK had "failed to condemn" racist abuse and had promoted prejudices during the campaign.

But Tory backbencher Andrew Bridgen rejected any suggestion MPs were in any way responsible for the spike in hate crimes and accused the UN body of trying to shut down "honest debate."

Some 3,198 hate crimes were reported across much of Britain between June 16 and June 30; a 42 per cent rise on 2015.

The UK Government said it had a zero tolerance approach to hate crime, backed by strong and effective laws.

One of the most controversial moments during the In/Out campaign was when the Ukip leader Nigel Farage unveiled a poster with pictures of Syrian refugees alongside the caption “breaking point”. The MEP came in for strong criticism from his political opponents but he insisted he was making a legitimate point about the lack of border controls while Britain remained part of the EU.

Following the Brexit vote, reported hate crime incidents peaked on 25 June - the day after the result was announced - when 289 were reported across England, Wales and Northern Ireland.

A further 3,001 reports of hate crimes were made to police between July 1 and 14; equivalent to more than 200 every day.

In a report, the UN committee said it was "seriously concerned" at the rise and condemned the "divisive, anti-immigrant and xenophobic rhetoric".

It explained: "The committee remains concerned that despite the recent increase in the reporting of hate crimes, the problem of underreporting persists and the gap between reported cases and successful prosecution remains significant. As a result, a large number of racist hate crimes seem to go unpunished."

The report said committee members were concerned at the "negative portrayal" of ethnic minority communities, immigrants, asylum-seekers and refugees in the UK, including coverage by the media.

They were also critical of the UK government's anti-terrorism Prevent strategy, which, they claimed, had created "an atmosphere of suspicion towards members of Muslim communities".

The report was also critical of the Conservative Government’s plans to replace the Human Rights Act of 1998 with a new British Bill of Rights, warning that the move could lead to "decreased levels of human rights protection".

David Isaac, chairman of the Equality and Human Rights Commission, made clear it shared the UN body's concerns and supported its call for "effective investigation and prosecution of all acts of racist hate crime".

He said: "There are concerns that the acrimonious and divisive manner in which the referendum debate was conducted exacerbated worrying divisions in British society and has been used by a minority to legitimise race hate.

"Political parties need to come together and show leadership, working with the relevant crime prevention agencies," he added.

A UK Government spokeswoman stressed how Britain had "one of the strongest legislative frameworks in the world to protect communities from hostility, violence and bigotry".

"We keep it under review to ensure it remains effective and appropriate - and recently published a comprehensive new Hate Crime Action Plan to drive forward the fight," she added.