Diane Abbott has written to the chief executives of two major medical insurers to demand an end to a postcode boycott of Jews.

The Labour MP for Hackney North and Stoke Newington noted that “thousands of members of the Stamford Hill Jewish community were being discriminated against” by HSA and the Western Provident Association.

Ms Abbott — who also contacted the Financial Services Authority — wrote after being informed by a constituent, Rabbi Avraham Pinter, that WPA was not offering quotes on cash plans to people in the E5, N15, N16 and NW11 postcodes.

The MP voiced concern that “many Jewish families had been left uninsured” following HSA’s decision to either freeze or terminate policies over the last few months, despite in some cases owing claimants hundreds of pounds for treatments.