The Tories have been accused of resorting to “incredibly cheap” tactics after the party referred to a Ukip candidate in a byelection leaflet by his full Turkish name of birth, which he shortened as a schoolboy.

Tim Aker, a Ukip MEP for the south-east of England who is standing in a council byelection on Thursday in Thurrock, hit out at the Conservatives after they referred to him as Timür next to a picture of two extremist preachers.

Aker, whose father is Turkish, told the Guardian: “I think they are just getting desperate. They will find anything. It is incredibly cheap of them. But freedom of speech is what it is and the public will judge them on it.

“I am not calling on them to stop using the leaflet. They can carry on doing what they do. I am not going to try and stifle their rights to freedom of speech. But they have got to bear the responsibility for it.”

The MEP hit out at the Tories after the party published his full birth name in a leaflet for their candidate Teresa Webster, who is standing against Aker in a byelection in the Aveley ward on Thursday. Aker’s full birth name, Timür, appeared next to pictures of the radical Islamist preachers Abu Qatada and Abu Hamza in a section in which the Tories said they would scrap the Human Rights Act. The leaflet drew attention to the Tory candidate’s local roots by describing her as an “Aveley girl”.

Jackie Doyle-Price, the local Tory MP, defended the leaflet. Doyle-Price, who will be challenged by Aker in the Thurrock parliamentary seat next May, described the leaflet as childish but not racist.

The MP told the Daily Telegraph: “If I’m honest with you I think by referring to his Turkish heritage we’ve actually given him credibility because frankly having roots from oversees is nothing to be ashamed of. Actually they are something to be proud. What we’ve done is actually broadcast the fact that Tim is just as much a citizen with diverse roots as anybody else in this country. It’s probably going to do him a favour.”

But the Conservative leadership distanced itself from the leaflet. A party spokesman said: “This is not something we condone.”

Aker said he was both surprised and shocked by the Tory move to mention his Turkish heritage which is well known to his friends and colleagues. He shortened his name to Tim at school.

The MEP said: “Is it odd to feel shocked and unsurprised at the same time? When they have run out of things to say this is the only thing left for them to do.

“I did change my name. I’ve always been known as Tim. I had it changed. When I went to school and they read out the register I thought who are they calling out? Mum always called me Tim.

“Have they not got anything else they can say as positive reasons to vote Conservative? I have never seen a local election dominated by one person before. All I am talking about is the NHS, the green belt and bringing back local buses to Aveley.”