London - The dispute over racism in the run-up to the British election grew more bitter yesterday as Mr William Hague accused Labour of a "shabby and contemptible" attempt to gag his party over asylum, while a prominent black Labour figure accused him of pandering to Tories who seek an "all-white Britain".
Mr Hague and his shadow home secretary, Ms Ann Widdecombe, insisted they would not be diverted by allegations of racism from making asylum a key campaign issue in the upcoming general election.
But the black broadcaster and Labour chairman of the Greater London Assembly, Mr Trevor Phillips, described racism as "the canker at the heart of the Tories" and accused Mr Hague of failing to deal with it.