A LIBERAL Democrat leaflet distributed in South Yorkshire used BNP-style language to highlight that a Labour councillor is a "non-British citizen", an MP has claimed.
A furious political row has broken out following the distribution of a Lib Dem leaflet, which includes an attack on Danish-born Doncaster councillor Eva Hughes.
The leaflet states how "Labour selected this non-British citizen who cannot vote in ge
neral elections."
Rotherham Labour MP Denis MacShane has called on Lib Dem leader and Sheffield Hallam MP Nick Clegg to withdraw the leaflet and dismiss or discipline those responsible.
Lib Dem chief executive Lord Rennard said the leaflet is no longer being distributed but it was "self-evidently in no way xenophobic".
Coun Hughes, who represents Wheatley, is a Danish passport holder who has lived in the UK for 24 years, 22 years in Doncaster.
She has been a councillor since 2002 and joined Mayor Martin Winter's breakaway group earlier this year.
Coun Hughes said: "I was shocked and hurt and distressed by the personal attacks on me."
Mr MacShane says the leaflet "describes a Labour councillor who was born in Denmark as 'a non British citizen', using the language we normally associate with the BNP".
Lord Rennard replied: "The leaflet in question was self-evidently in no way xenophobic; instead it was a perfectly legitimate attack on the recent conduct in office of a Labour councillor."
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