Gloucester MP Richard Graham (pictured) suggested the city's immigrants needed education on recycling and fly-tipping

A Conservative MP has come under fire for suggesting that immigrants are the worst litter offenders in his constituency.

Richard Graham, who represents Gloucester, wrote in a newsletter that the city's migrants needed education to stop them fly-tipping and encourage them to recycle.

The 60-year-old, who was writing to constituents about new measures to deal with waste in the area including a new incinerator, said immigrants were 'not used to urban recycling'.

Rebecca Trimnell, the prospective Lib Dem candidate for the constituency, slammed Mr Graham saying the Tories were still the 'nasty party'.

Dr Trimnell compared the city's MP to Boris Johnson, who has been at the centre of a row in the Conservative party since he said women in burkas looked like 'letterboxes' and 'bank robbers'.

She said: 'The arrogance and bigotry that exists within the Conservative Party is an insult to everyone in this country.

'Theresa May once famously called the Conservatives the nasty party. They still are.

'I am disappointed that such comments have been made by an MP who represents such a diverse and multi-cultural city as Gloucester. He should apologise.

'He also labelled gulls feeding on the waste at the tip as "The single most depressing sight in Gloucester".

'I would have thought the sight of people living on the streets of Gloucester or families having to resort to using food banks to survive is 'The single most depressing sight in Gloucester'.

Mr Graham's email newsletter last week focused on plans to close the Gloucester refuse tip at Hempsted and send non-recyclable waste from Stroud and Gloucester to an incinerator being built at Javelin Park, Hardwicke.

Mr Graham said in the newsletter that the incinerator and the closure of the top were 'Not the end of the story, although a hugely significant change. '

He went on: 'There is still more work in our city (and all of our county) to recycle more - which also implies an education programme for immigrants not used to urban recycling - and Gloucester City Council is working to sort out management issues in the collection of rubbish: I expect announcements in due course to improve this.'

A Lib Dem candidate compared the Mr Graham to Boris Johnson (pictured), who sparked a row in the Tory party by saying women in burkas looked like 'letterboxes' and 'bank robbers

Responding to the Lib Dem candidate's criticism, Mr Graham said Gloucester was a very diverse city, which was something to celebrate.

But he said there was a problem with fly-tipping in some multi-cultural parts of Gloucester that needed addressing.

'It would be a mistake not to recognise that immigration from a huge number of different countries in the world also brings with it challenges,' he said.

One problem was with communication and language and newly-arrived immigrants needed to be made fully aware of what the city was trying to do in terms of collecting waste and recycling, he said.

He said: 'Twenty-five per cent of the fly-tipping is in Barton and Tredworth [Gloucestershire's most ethnically diverse district], which has a significantly smaller percentage of the city's population.

'Part of the challenge there is about making sure that our newly-arrived immigrants understand exactly what the process for waste and recycling is.

'They need help from the council, local councillors, residents' associations, neighbours, churches and mosques - the community in the widest possible sense.

'I believe that everybody who lives there knows and understands this well.'