CONSERVATIVES have been accused of hypocrisy after using a team of Eastern European’s to deliver campaign leaflets in Pendle.

Writing on his Twitter page, the borough’s Liberal Democrat parliamentary candidate Afzal Anwar accused his local Tory rivals of having paid for six people to travel to England from Serbia and stay in a Colne hotel for 10 days in exchange for delivering leaflets.

But the Conservatives hit back saying the group, from Serbia and Albania, are part of a Foreign Office-funded trip whereby like-minded parties from foreign countries come to learn about UK elections.

Mr Anwar had said the move went against the Conservative’s stress on ‘keeping out’ immigrants and could be interpreted as ‘hypocritical’.

He claimed Andrew Stephenson, the Tory parliamentary candidate for Pendle, and his agent George Askew were behind the move.

He wrote: “They are here for around ten days, all expenses paid.

"They are being put up in a hotel in Colne and taken out for meals by the Conservative candidate and his agent George Askew.

"Their travel expenses from Serbia have been paid for.”

Gordon Prentice, Labour Parliamentary candidate for Pendle, said the issue deserved wider publicity.

But Mr Askew said: “Pendle Conservatives are hosting six international observers from centre-right parties in Albania and Serbia as part of the Westminster Foundation for Democracy programme.

“This is a programme funded by the Foreign Office in which all three main political parties participate.

“Young activists from political parties in emerging democracies come to the UK for the final few days of the campaign to learn campaigning techniques and observe our political process in action.

“The Lib Dems and Labour Party will also be hosting International Observers, however their Central Offices obviously decided to send them to other parts of the country."