One-in-four Britons have witnessed at least one hate crime or incident based on race or ethnicity in the past year, according to research released by the Holocaust Memorial Day Trust to mark HMD. More than a fifth have seen an incident based on religion or beliefs.

In total, 27 per cent said they had witnessed a form of hate crime or hate incident, defined as acts of violence or hostility directed at people because of who they are, or are thought to be. Sixty-nine per cent of those who observed this type of abuse regretted not challenging it.

The research suggested that the young were more willing to confront perpetrators. Seventeen per cent of those aged from 16-to-24 said they had intervened during an incident, compared to one-in-eight among those aged 25-to-34 and just seven per cent of 35-to-44s.

Twelve per cent of respondents said they had been a victim of a hate incident or crime. Sixty per cent of those said passers-by didn't intervene.