LABOUR MP Diane Abbott has sparked anger by suggesting on TV that Bolton Council "dump all their Asians on one estate".

The outspoken politician made the claims during a discussion on multi-culturalism on the BBC politics programme, This Week.

There has been a huge backlash from fellow MPs and local councillors who have branded her comments as nonsense.

Bolton North -east MP David Crausby said: "The people of Bolton deserve an apology. She should check her facts and speak to the MPs in the area before coming out with absolute nonsense, I'm very annoyed with her.

"We have a better record of community relations than other boroughs in the south and I don't remember her ever coming to Bolton."

Ms Abbott, the MP for Hackney North and Stoke Newington, is a regular presenter on the weekly This Week show, on which current events and issues are discussed.

She was involved in a discussion with former Tory MP, Michael Portillo, about multi-culturalism when she made the comments.

Ms Abbott, the first black woman to become an MP, referred to councils in the north of England "dumping all their Asian families on one estate."

"That's one of the reasons you see a pattern, particularly outside of London, of people living in separate communities.

"Literally, some of these local authorities, in Bolton or wherever, will dump all their Asians on one estate. That's what they do."

Yaseer Ahmed, a member of the Bolton Council of Mosques, who is a commissioner on the Commission for Racial Equality, lives in Rumworth Street, Daubhill, a predominantly Asian area.

He said: "People choose to live around mosques, shops and amenities which serve their community and near their families, it's not the council's policy.

"Younger people are now starting to move to other areas as they get better jobs and become more affluent.

"It's because Bolton Council has not lumped people together and has involved the whole community in decision making on things like regeneration and housing developments, that we have not had the sort of issues faced in Oldham, Burnley and Bradford."

Ms Abbott's fellow Labour politicians in Bolton have also spoken out against her comments.

Dr Brian Iddon, who represents Bolton south east said: "What she is saying is not true. Asian families do sometimes choose to live in their own areas, but it's not forced on them by the council."

And Bolton-west MP, Ruth Kelly, who looks after community cohesion in her role as Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, said: "These are issues which are taken extremely seriously by Bolton Council, which has a successful track record of promoting community cohesion."

Bolton Council's executive member for human resources and diversity, Cllr Frank White, said: "Bolton has a long history of peaceful community relations between ethnic groups.

"A recent survey of ethnic minority residents in Bolton found that only 16 per cent felt they were living in an area with residents who were nearly all from the same ethnic group.

"The same survey also found that 83 per cent of residents felt the local area where they live was a place where people from different backgrounds get on well together."

Cllr White added that Bolton's choice-based letting scheme gave tenants the chance to express a preference for the area and property they wanted to live in.

Ms Abbott was not available for comment.