Prince Harry has admitted that he is "acutely aware of [his] own past mistakes" in a new message about the worrying rise of antisemitism in the UK. Writing in the New Statesman, the Duke of Sussex expressed concern about a "deeply troubling" increase in attacks against the Jewish community.

It follows an increase of violent incidents targeting Jewish communities, which has seen the national terror threat level raised to "severe" for the first time in five years. In his article, Prince Harry referred to the recent attacks against Jews in Manchester and London and called for those protesting against events in the Middle East to be "clear" about where their anger is directed.

The Duke referenced his own past mistakes, which previously saw him dress as a Nazi at a 'colonials and natives' fancy dress party in 2005.

Prince Harry writes: "Across the country, we are seeing a deeply troubling rise in anti-Semitism. Jewish communities – families, children, ordinary people – are being made to feel unsafe in the very places they call home.

"That should alarm us, but also unite us. Because hatred directed at people for who they are, or what they believe, is not protest. It is prejudice. Recent incidents, including lethal violence in London and Manchester, have brought this into sharp and deeply troubling focus."

Referring to his previous mistakes, which saw him photographed in a Nazi uniform and swastika armband in 2005, Harry wrote: "I am acutely aware of my own past mistakes – thoughtless actions for which I have apologised, taken responsibility and learned from.

"That experience informs my conviction that clarity matters now more than ever, at a time when confusion and the distortion of truth are doing real harm – even when speaking plainly is not without consequence. It requires responsibility from all of us. We cannot answer injustice with more injustice. If we do, we don’t end the cycle, we extend it. The only way to break it is to refuse to pass it on."

The Duke adds that while there is "deep and justified alarm" about the scale of death in Gaza and Lebanon, "we have seen how legitimate protest against state actions in the Middle East does exist alongside hostility toward Jewish communities at home".

Harry, who does not mention Israel by name in the piece, added: "Nothing, whether criticism of a government or the reality of violence and destruction, can ever justify hostility toward an entire people or faith."

However, he also stressed the importance of "legitimate" criticism when states act without accountability and in ways that raise serious questions under international humanitarian law".