Student union leaders are set to be taken to visit Auschwitz to tackle anti-Semitism on campus, the Government has said.

Students from all 108 universities and university colleges in England are set to be taken to visit the former concentration camp to learn about the Holocaust as part of a Government-funded project.

The £144,000 programme has been announced amid concerns about high levels of anti-Semitism among university students.

Last month then-universities minister Jo Johnson said there were “unacceptable” levels of anti-Semitism among students. Student leaders will then take part in seminars which will teach them how to identify and tackle antisemitism at their own university.

In February last year a swastika carving and a “rights for whites” sign were found in halls of residence at Exeter University. Holocaust denial pamphlets have also been reportedly distributed at several universities including Cambridge, Glasgow and UCL.

Josh Holt, president of the Union of Jewish Students, said there had been “a distressing increase in swastika graffiti, Holocaust denial literature and politicisation of the Holocaust on some UK campuses.”

“Holocaust education remains one of the most powerful tools we have to fight bigotry,” he said.