Anti-Semitic abuse rises after Harry's Nazi gaffe

Prince Harry's blunder in wearing a Nazi uniform to a fancy-dress party provoked a stream of anti-Semitic abuse directed at Jewish organisations, according to a new report.

Eleven incidents were also triggered when Ken Livingstone, the London Mayor, compared a Jewish journalist to a concentration camp guard.

The two high-profile cases were partly responsible for pushing up the number of recorded anti-Semitic incidents throughout the UK to 455 in 2005. The total is the second-highest recorded by the Community Security Trust (CST), a Jewish community organisation.

Prince Harry was forced to issue an apology last January after a photograph on the front page of The Sun showed him at a party dressed as a member of Rommel's Afrika Korps, complete with a prominent swastika armband.

According to yesterday's CST report, a Jewish organisation received an e-mail last year in support of Prince Harry wearing the uniform, denying the Holocaust happened and suggesting it was time to eliminate the Jewish race. It added: "Mr Hitler was correct in his dealings with this scum of the earth."

This is one of 10 incidents involving "overt expression of far-right ideas" that were triggered by the Prince's Nazi outfit, said the report.

A Jewish MP received a letter defending Mr Livingstone for comparing the Evening Standard reporter Oliver Finegold to a Nazi concentration guard, the report said. The letter denied Auschwitz had gas chambers.

The CST recorded 455 anti-Semitic incidents, including 82 violent assaults and two of extreme violence.Not all incidents are reported and it is thought the true figure is higher.