British political parties will have to verify their identity and location if they want to take out adverts on Facebook, under new rules set out by the company on Tuesday designed to bolster transparency in political advertising ahead of elections.

Facebook will also include new features on its website to show who has paid for adverts and begin an archive of all political ads that are purchased on the site in an effort to clamp down on election fraud.

Facebook was at the heart of claims surrounding fake political advertising and misinformation during the 2016 US elections when Russia-linked groups used adverts and articles spread via Facebook to sow discord.

Facebook adverts were also used during the Brexit referendum and linked to claims of overspending by the Vote Leave campaign.

From Tuesday, Facebook adverts that include political content around elections or areas of national debate will carry a "paid for by" disclaimer.

The rule changes come after the Electoral Commission published guidelines calling for imprints on digital adverts.

Facebook launched similar tools in the US earlier this year ahead of Congressional elections.

The group's head of public policy Richard Allan and product management director Rob Leathern said the new tools would not be able to prevent all manipulation.

"While we are pleased with the progress we have seen in the countries where we have rolled out the tools, we understand that they will not prevent abuse entirely," they said.