"Divisive" and "anti-immigrant" rhetoric by UK politicians during the EU referendum helped to fuel a spike in race hate crimes in the weeks before and after the vote, a UN body has said.

It said prominent political figures had "failed to condemn" racist abuse and created prejudices during the campaign.

Some 3,198 hate crimes were reported from 16-30 June - a 42% rise on 2015.

The UK government said it had a zero tolerance approach to hate crime, backed by strong and effective laws.

The EU referendum was held on 23 June - when the UK voted to leave the European Union.

Abuse peaked on 25 June - the day after the result was announced - when 289 hate crimes and incidents were reported across England, Wales and Northern Ireland.

A further 3,001 reports of hate crimes were made to police between 1 and 14 July - equivalent to more than 200 every day.

(BBC)