The Community Security Trust (CST), which advises British Jews on safety issues, said that synagogues, schools and community centres should increase security as the risk of terrorist attacks and anti-Semitic incidents in Britain escalated in correlation with hostilities in the Middle East.

The warning came after a bomb scare at the Israeli Embassy forced police to cordon off a busy shopping area on Sunday afternoon. An area around Kensington Palace Gardens, West London, was closed and cars were searched before the all-clear was given.

The trust logged 60 antiSemitic incidents last month, compared with 31 for the same month last year. These included the daubing of racist slogans and references to Islam on windows at a Jewish doctor’s North London home, and the painting of the word “Hezbollah” on the pavement outside Garnethill Synagogue in Glasgow. Other incidents involved abusive phone messages and hate mail.

Mark Gardner, a CST spokesman, said: “We are in liaison with police at least once every day to discuss potential security threats nationwide and have issued guidelines urging the community to ensure that security measures are followed.”

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