The Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) said that a man who tweeted "to dislike the Jews is no worse than hating muggers or murderers”, would not be charged because he was engaging in "political discourse", it has been revealed.

In a letter explaining its decision, which was later leaked, prosecutors added that he was expressing views he was "entitled to hold in a free and democratic society”.

The CPS wrote: “The views that he expresses throughout are expressions of a political stance that he is entitled to hold and to express in a society in which political debate, even trenchantly and unpleasantly expressed, is encouraged and a hallmark of a civilised society.”

The revelation comes as campaigners accused the CPS of failing to bring to court a host of others accused of posting antisemitic messages on social media.

In several cases, police forces investigated the messages, and even recommended that individuals be prosecuted, LBC reported on Wednesday.

The Campaign Against Antisemitism (CAA) also reported to police a number of antisemitic messages posted on Twitter and Gab, a social media platform known as a safe haven for neo-Nazis.

In the wake of the Pittsburgh synagogue shootings, it was revealed that Robert Bowers, the suspected perpetrator, used Gab to send antisemitic threats.

Other offending messages include one, sent by a British white supremacist, which read: “I propose when we get the chance we exterminate the Jews by gassing.”

The same person also called for Britain to “change back to a proper white country”.

The JC understands that the investigation by Essex Police is still ongoing. A prosecution has not yet been brought, nor ruled out.

In another case, a former barrister tweeted about a prominent Jewish businessman: "Only Hitler dealt with his sort properly”.

A police investigation into the tweet was later dropped.

Earlier this year Alison Chabloz, a self-proclaimed Holocaust revisionist, was convicted of posting “grossly offensive” antisemitic songs online in a landmark case.

The CPS took up the case after CAA pursued a private prosecution against Chabloz. The charity said it did so after public prosecutors initially failed to do so.

Stephen Silverman, CAA’s director of investigations and enforcement, said: “The CPS is in dereliction of its duty to protect Jewish citizens."

A CPS spokesman said: “We can only consider charging someone once a file of evidence has been referred to us by the police. We will always prosecute instances of antisemitic hate speech where there is enough evidence to secure a conviction and it is in the public interest.”