Yvette Cooper has said the election campaign of Donald Trump is a warning "about the dangers of whipping up hatred and prejudice".
The chairwoman of the Home Affairs Select Committee (HASC) said there has been a rise in hate crime linked to the divisive campaigns of the US presidential election and Brexit.
She made the comments as HASC launches an inquiry into hate crime and whether the law needs to change to tackle it.
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The senior Labour MP said: "We have a responsibility to stop this rise of hatred and hate crime.
"No one should ever find themselves targeted by violence or hatred because of the colour of their skin, their religion, gender, sexuality or disability.
"Yet we are seeing reports of rising hate crime linked to political events like the US presidential election or the EU referendum - from the terrible murder of a Polish man in Essex, to assaults on young Muslim women on US university campuses.
"The Trump campaign, and the reports of hate crime in the US since the election, should be a warning to all of us about the dangers of whipping up hatred and prejudice."
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She said political leaders have a responsibility to ensure their rhetoric "does not inflame prejudice or become a licence for hate crime".
And she said the committee is "concerned" by the spike in hate crime in Britain, and the online harassment and abuse spouted by some.
MPs will look at what has fuelled the rise, what can be done to prevent and prosecute hate crime, and what social media firms can do to tackle the problem.
Ms Cooper said: "Political debate, in this country and around the world, should be strong and robust, but should seek to calm tensions, not inflame them.
"Free speech is a fundamental right in the UK and it should be afforded to everyone - free from intimidation and abuse."
Race or religious hate crime jumped by more than two fifths in the wake of the EU referendum, official figures have showed.
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The number of racially and religiously aggravated alleged offences recorded by police in July was 41% higher than in the same month last year.
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