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Eleven Jewish peers including Lord Sugar have reported a number of Jeremy Corbyn-supporting Facebook groups to the police for displaying “antisemitic rhetoric stirring up racial hatred”.

The cross-party group, which includes Conservative Lord Polak, and Labour’s Lord Turnberg and Lord Beecham; Lord Carlile and Lord Palmer of the Liberal Democrats, and crossbencher Baroness Deech, wrote to Cressida Dick, of the Metropolitan Police Commissioner, yesterday afternoon, describing the groups as promoting “hate speech on social media platforms.

“We believe that many of the messages may be a breach under the Public Order Act (1986), and would ask that the Metropolitan Police investigate.”

Citing an article by the Sunday Times, the peers gave examples including relating to a member of a Facebook group called “Supporting Jeremy Corbyn & John McDonnell”, who wrote: "Adolph (sic), you should have finished the job.”

An example cited from a group called “Jeremy Corbyn Leads Us to Victory” revealed members had posted pictures of journalists at the New York Times and CNN with the Star of David pasted onto those they believed to be Jewish.

“These messages seem to go well beyond what can reasonably be considered as free-speech, and we believe those which incite violence should urgently be investigated to establish whether they were made with serious intent,” the peers wrote.

“It is our strongly held belief that this antisemitic rhetoric not only stirs up racial hatred which threatens the very fabric of community cohesion throughout London and the UK, but also poses a possible physical threat to the Jewish community.”

The Metropolitan Police confirmed it had received the correspondence sent to the Commissioner and was reviewing it.

The full list of signatories to the letter is: Lord Polak, Baroness Altmann, Lord Beecham, Lord Carlile, Baroness Deech, Lord Leigh, Lord Mitchell, Lord Pannick, Lord Palmer, Lord Sugar, Lord Turnberg