Germany’s ruling party has been forced to defend themselves against accusations they have tolerated neo-Nazis in their ranks after at least one local politician was revealed to have been an activist for the far-Right.

“We take resolute and uncompromising action against all forms of Right-wing extremism,” said Annegret Kramp-Karrenbauer, the leader of the Christian Democrats (CDU) on Wednesday, after opposition politicians accused the party of ignoring the extent of the problem.

The dispute was ignited when it emerged that a CDU councillor in the eastern state of Saxony-Anhalt had helped organise a neo-Nazi march in 2011.

The politician, Robert Möritz, initially denied the claims before eventually coming clean about past links to far-Right radicalism.

The revelations caused an upset with other parties in Saxony-Anhalt, with the Social Democrats (SPD) - the CDU's coalition partners and Green both expressing outrage.

The Green party asked on social media “how much space is there for swastikas in the CDU?”