The World Jewish Congress has accused the Polish government of failing to act promptly to remove an anti-Semitic banner hung on the gate of a guesthouse barring Jews from entering.

Stating “Entry forbidden to Jews, Commies and all thieves and traitors of Poland,” the banner appeared on a guesthouse owned by Piotr Rybak in the south-west town Cesarzowice, near the city of Wrocław.

It had reportedly hung there since at least the spring, but was not removed by police until last week. A police spokesman claimed it was removed immediately after it was reported to the authorities.

Well-known in Polish far-right circles, Mr Rybak was turned away at the UK border in June while on his way to attend a Britain First rally.

The banner incident comes amid rising concern over the strength and growing audacity of the far-right in Poland.

“Given Poland’s history, we would have expected the authorities to act forcefully and swiftly to put a stop to such activity, which is illegal and utterly contravenes the democratic norms Warsaw is committed to upholding,” Robert Singer, the World Jewish Congress’s CEO, said in a statement.

He added that the banner “conjured up memories of ghetto benches and other chilling manifestations of anti-Semitism in Poland in the late 1930s”.