Tory mayor of London candidate Zac Goldsmith has revealed he has received antisemitic abuse on Twitter.

Speaking at the annual Conservative Friends of Israel lunch on Monday, Mr Goldsmith, whose father Sir James was Jewish, said: “I was brought up by my father to identify very strongly as Jewish.

“But the truth is, that beyond my name, which is a fairly strong Jewish name, ‘Zacharias Goldsmith’ changed from ‘Goldschmidts’ – I cannot claim to be all that Jewish.

“But if you type in my name on Twitter, you will find that I am at the very heart of the Jewish conspiracy.

“[They say] I have this amazing control over the press – which should make my mayoral contest very easy; and that my family have completely infiltrated the royal family.”

Mr Goldsmith, the MP for Richmond Park, continued: “Sadly, social media is a reminder of the rising wave of antisemitism which sweeping across Europe

“There is no denying or ignoring it.

“Particularly on social media, criticism of Israel has become a cover for an old hatred."

He continued: “We can take a more robust approach. We can direct our police – both in London and elsewhere – to have a zero tolerance approach towards incitement.”

Mr Goldsmith, 40, went on to thank the 750 guests (including 160 Tory MPs) at the central London event for supporting his campaign to succeed Boris Johnson as the next mayor of London at next year’s election.