The Tories and Liberal Democrats have been accused of “laughable hypocrisy” after complaining about eachother’s fake newspapers.

Campaign leaflets resembling local newspapers have been used by both the Lib Dem Chesham and Amersham MP Sarah Green and her Tory general election challenger Gareth Williams, the Bucks Herald reported.

However when asked about residents’ concerns at the fake titles, the two parties pointed the finger at eachother.

Dawn Alford, executive director of the Society of Editors, has now repeated her calls for both parties to abandon the campaign tactic which says is damaging to democracy and to the local news industry.

She told the Local Democracy Reporting Service:”Given that the Liberal Democrat Party is one of the worst perpetrators when it comes to disguising party political material as independent news and information, the hypocrisy of this situation is almost laughable.”

“Instead of arguing over whose fake newspaper is more transparent, both parties should ditch the format altogether and, instead, look to promote the work of the genuine local media as a reliable and independent source of news.”

The Tory leaflet, featuring Bucks county councillor Williams, is entitled the ‘Chesham and Amersham Chronicle’ and geatures a front-page article talking up the Conservative government’s decision to cut national insurance contributions.

It includes a line of fine print at the bottom of the front page stating it is promoted by the Chesham and Amersham Conservative Association.

Meanwhile, the front page of Ms Green’s ‘Chesham & Amersham News Courier’ boasted of her big majority over the Tories in the 2021 Chesham and Amersham by-election under the headline: ‘Residents say it should be Sarah’.

A fine line of text below the masthead states that it is a free leaflet paid for by the Liberal Democrats.

A Lib Dem Spokesperson said: “While we can’t account for how other parties communicate, the Liberal Democrats have set clear guidance when using tabloid campaign leaflets, which includes marking them as from and paid for by us on the front page.

“Unlike the Conservatives approach, our guidance goes further than political parties’ legal requirements. It’s crucial that this type of tabloid campaigning literature states clearly it comes from a political party.”

A Conservative spokesman said: “When directly comparing Gareth’s literature to Sarah’s, there is a clear contrast – Gareth clearly prints his name, making clear it is a political communication.

“It’s a shame to see the Lib Dems attack Gareth on the back of scrutiny of their literature. Gareth will continue to run a consistently positive campaign, focused on the priorities of Chesham and Amersham residents.”