A ROW has broken out over alleged racist election leaflets distributed as part of a by-election campaign.

The Labour and Green party candidates in the Horwich Town Council by-election on January 19 have accused the Liberal Democrats of distributing material which “incites racial and religious hatred” by implying that “money has been diverted from Horwich into the coffers of the mosques”.

But the Lib Dems have defended their newsletter, saying they quoted information from a previous Labour leaflet, and claim the race and religious accusation is a smokescreen to confuse people in Horwich about the real issue.

The Lib Dems’ Focus newsletter cites a 2008 Labour election leaflet distributed to Crompton, Halliwell, Great Lever, Rumworth and Farnworth.

The leaflet claimed Lib Dems had previously taken money from these areas to give to Horwich and Westhougton when they were in power on Bolton Council and that Labour councillors had managed to get the money taken back from Horwich and Westhoughton to those more deprived wards.

Cllr Roger Hayes, leader of the Liberal Democrat group in Bolton, said that allegation against them was investigated and proved to be wrong.

Labour candidate Richard Silvester and Green candidate Graham Chadwick said in a joint statement: “We believe, whatever its author’s intentions, this article is an incitement to racial and religious hatred.

“It legitimises and adds credence to all those dangerous lies and myths which regrettably still attract a degree of misguided support in our society, specifically that ethnic minorities receive a disproportionate share of social benefits and preferential treatment from public bodies.

“The author of this article repeatedly quotes the word, ‘Mosque’ and there is the repeated implication that money has been diverted from Horwich into the coffers of the mosques.

“The evil of racism feeds and prospers on the kind of innuendo contained in this article.”

But Cllr Hayes said: “There was no intention of anything of the sort. The article is a lift from what the Labour party said in a leaflet. Whether they did take money away from Horwich for other areas I would not like to say, but that is what they are claiming.

“We have got a proud record of opposing racism.

“I think this is a smokescreen and they are trying to confuse people in Horwich.

“The real issue is whether Labour have or have not moved money away to other areas.”

Lynn Rock, the Lib Dem candidate for Horwich, was too unwell to speak.