A third of Britons have racist opinions, a study shows.

A study by NatCen Social Research published Wednesday showed that 30 percent of 2,000 Britons who were interviewed confirmed that they have racist prior opinions.

In 2001, the figure was only 25 percent.

“The findings are troubling,” said Penny Young, chief executive of NatCen Social Research, according to the centre’s website.

“Levels of racial prejudice declined steadily throughout the Nineties, but have been on the rise again during the first decade of this century. This bucks the trend of a more socially liberal and tolerant Britain,” she said.

“Our local and national leaders need to understand and respond to increased levels of racial prejudice if we are to build strong local communities.”

The British Social Attitudes Survey has been conducted annually since 1983 and the most recent data used 3,244 interviews with a random sample of British adults.

It also covered political issues, social and moral attitudes and opinions on gender roles and the family.