The findings of the ICM survey, conducted for the
Jewish Chronicle newspaper, showed that 15% of those
polled agreed the scale of the Holocaust
has been exaggerated.
Seventy percent disagreed with the statement, and 62%
disagreed with it strongly, according to the survey, which was
published in the left-wing Guardian daily newspaper.
Historians put the number of Jews killed during the Holocaust at around six million - a
statistic compiled from post-World War II census numbers.
Moreover, nearly 20% of those questioned in the poll - timed to
coincide with Holocaust Memorial Day next Tuesday - said that a
Jewish prime minister would be less acceptable than a member of any
other faith.
Asked whether a British Jew would make an equally acceptable
prime minister as a member of any other faith, 53% agreed and
18% disagreed, 11% strongly.
Jewish influence
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Conservative leader Michael
Howard is Jewish |
Michael Howard, head of the opposition Conservatives, is the
first Jewish leader of a major political party in recent times in
Britain.
The poll of 1007 people in England, Scotland and Wales found 37%
agreeing that Jewish people make a positive contribution to
political, social and cultural life of Britain, with 20%
disagreeing.
Meanwhile, 18% agreed that Jews had too much influence,
while 47% disagreed.
Britain's Home Secretary David Blunkett, interviewed by the
Guardian, expressed his disappointment at the poll's findings.
"It means people are prepared to set aside not only the
evidence, but the overwhelming emotion that goes with it," Blunkett
said.
"They delude themselves into believing that the Nazis are not
what we know them to be and this is very depressing."