The number of religious hate crimes committed against Jews in England and Wales fell by one fifth (21 per cent) last year but still remain "far too high", new statistics released by the Home Office reveal.

Jews made up 17 per cent of all religious hate crime victims in the 12 months to March 2023, despite comprising just 0.5 per cent of the population in England and Wales.

Overall, 1,510 religiously motivated hate crimes were committed against the Jewish community in this period.

That is compared 1,919 hate crimes targeting Jews in the 12 months to 2022, when Jews accounted for 23 per cent of religious hate crime victims.

In the 12 months to March 2021, there were 1,288 crimes against Jews recorded, comprising 22 per cent of all religious hate crimes documented, while in 2020, that number was 1,205, or 19 per cent.

In total, 8,902 religious hate crimes were recorded in England and Wales in the year to March 2023, up seven per cent from 8,307 the previous year.

Muslims were targeted more than any other religious group, with 3,452 offences recorded comprising 39 per cent of the total, with a further 649 offences, or seven per cent, committed against Christians.

Dave Rich, head of policy at the Community Security Trust, said: "The 21 per cent drop in recorded antisemitic hate crimes this year follows the huge spike in incidents the previous year [when] the war in Israel and Gaza in May 2021 [took place].

"It was to be expected that this year's total would fall in comparison, but it is still significantly higher than the total for anti-Jewish hate crimes two years ago.

"Just as concerning is the fact that Jews suffer 17 per cent of all religious hate crimes, which is a far higher proportion for the size of the Jewish community when compared to other faith groups.

"Taken together, these figures show that anti-Jewish hate crime is still far too high, both as an absolute number and relative to the size of our community."

The Home Office said: "There is no place for hate in our society, it does not reflect the values of modern Britain, and we remain committed to ensuring these abhorrent offences are stamped out.

Earlier this year, Home Secretary Suella Braverman unveiled fresh measures to boost the security of the Jewish community, pledging an increase of £1 million in funding and a new dedicated task force.

She said the money would support “increased protective security, including security guards and other security measures such as CCTV and alarm systems to protect against persistent hate crime, anti-social behaviour, terrorism, and state threats.”