CONSERVATIVE claims that asylum seekers are to blame for council tax rises in Kent have provoked a furious political row.

The claims were set out in newspaper adverts paid for by Conservative Central Office.

They suggested Kent County Council and Medway Council had been forced to spend £259million supporting asylum seekers since 1997.

The adverts said the money could have been “better spent on essential local services” and that it was “no wonder” that average bills had risen by £550 since 1997.

Opposition parties say the adverts are a “grotesque distortion” of the facts because they fail to mention that of the £259million, around £240million has been reimbursed to both KCC and Medway by the government.

But Conservative Central Office denied the adverts were misleading and Conservative county council leader Sir Sandy Bruce-Lockhart said: “If the Government had controlled the asylum system and if the county council’s asylum costs had remained the same as in 1996, this £259million could have been saved and spent on other council services or used to lower council tax.”

However, both Labour and the Liberal Democrats denounced the claims.

Opposition Labour leader on Kent County Council Cllr Mike Eddy said: “These adverts are an absolute disgrace and a grotesque distortion. Where they get the idea that council tax bills have risen by £550 I have no idea. Asylum has cost KCC nothing - the government has paid them for everything.”

Cllr Trudy Dean, Liberal Democrat leader, echoed: “This is a despicable move to mislead Kent voters and wrongly lay the blame on asylum seekers for increasing council tax bills which have shot up under the Tories."

In a statement, Conservative Central Office stood by the claims made in its advert.