Britain must remain in the European Union to protect Israel and combat terrorism, according to one of the most senior Jewish Conservatives.

Robert Halfon, the party's deputy chairman, said he was "frightened" of the prospects for the West, for Israel and for Jews in the face of rising Islamism and "the revival of antisemitism".

The only option, he concluded, was for Britain to stay in to ensure the country maintained its global influence.

Writing in the Telegraph, Mr Halfon said he had three motivations in politics. The first was to ensure the Tories were seen as the party of social reform and social justice, "the second [is] to stop terrorism and genocide across the world. The third [is] unashamed support for Israel, as the only real democracy and progressive force in the Middle East."

The son of an Italian Jewish father who came to Britain from Libya, and a mother whose family escaped oppression in Russia, Mr Halfon explained that while he had "angst about the EU", he believed in its blanket of protection.