Shadow Home Secretary Yvette Cooper has challenged Facebook to do more to tackle antisemitism on the site.

The Labour politician’s comments came after more than 20,000 people signed a petition calling on the company, and its Jewish founder Mark Zuckerberg, to stop “supporting the spread of antisemitism”.

Ms Cooper told the JC: “Facebook should be enforcing its own rules when it comes to hate-filled content on its social network. Antisemitic hate crimes should be tackled in all spheres of life - be it online or on the street.”

She said there was a “particular onus” on large social networks to “make sure people aren’t allowed to just get away with it.

“In cases where a crime has been committed, they should cooperate with the police to make sure hate crimes do not go unpunished.”

The Labour front-bencher urged Facebook to show “the utmost responsibility” on the issue.

Facebook refused to delete a page called “Jewish Ritual Murder” last month. The page claimed Jews ritually sacrificed Christian children.

At the time, a Facebook spokeswoman said: “We have long believed that simply removing such content from Facebook will not help to overcome ignorance. While this tests us all, having the freedom to debate serious issues like this is how we fight prejudice.”