Prime Minister Theresa May has condemned Green Party councillors in Solihull for supposedly "pandering to racism" by trying to win votes from BNP supporters.

It comes after BirminghamLive revealed Green activists were told that if they met a BNP supporter while canvassing, they should encourage them to go to the polling station in the hope that they might vote Green.

The advice was contained in a detailed document called “How to Win an Election”, written by Chris Williams, the party’s Regional Manager for Elections and a councillor in Solihull.

Mrs May spoke after she was questioned by Solihull Conservative MP Julian Knight during Prime Minister's Questions in the Commons.

He said: "Not long ago we had the horror of three pigs heads being left outside a Muslim community centre in Solihull. Then the EDL thugs came to my proud multicultural town, and we turned our backs on them.

"In this light, will the Prime Minister join me in condemning utterly the actions of a Solihull Green councillor, as reported in the Birmingham Mail, who has written a guide about how to attract and trick BNP voters.

"There is no place for pandering to racism in my town or in our politics."

The Prime Minister told him: "I absolutely agree with him.

"There is no place in our society for pandering to racism of any sort.

"And we should send a very clear message of that from the whole of this House."

Mrs May also said that the Government was making more money available to protect places of worship.

Theresa May

The Green Party say the document is no longer in use.

In a section on canvassing, the document invited activists to imagine they are in a seat where the Greens were challenging Labour, and explained how to respond if a voter said they backed the BNP or UKIP.

The document said: “If they say BNP or UKIP, then do not tell them that there is no BNP or UKIP candidate (unless they are very anti-Green) but if they appear to be very anti-Labour, then we do want them to go to the polling station.

“When they get there, they will see no BNP or UKIP candidate and so may vote Green instead.”

Instead, activists were told to say: “Do you know you have 3 Labour Councillors in this area at the moment, which means they have the monopoly? [Candidate] has been working all year round - you have probably seen the newsletters – and so you may wish to consider voting for him in order to keep Labour out. It’s a two-horse race around here between Labour and [candidate].”

The Green Party are the official opposition in Solihull, with 11 councillors. Nationwide they have one MP and are led by Sian Berry and Jonathan Bartley.

Solihull MP Julian Knight

The BNP is a racist party which believes in putting “British” people first and also argues that only ethnic white Europeans can be British.

In a statement earlier this month, a Green Party spokesperson said: "The document referred to is a now old guide to conversations on the doorsteps where we will encounter constituents from all political persuasions, who have voted in a variety of ways over the course of their voting lives.

“The Green Party will always listen to voters on the doorstep and will not make judgements about them based on their voting intentions past or present.

“We know that many people feel frustrated and disenfranchised by mainstream politics and have looked for an alternative."

The spokesperson said: “The Green Party offers a solution of hope, not hate, and we are proud to have taken seats from UKIP, erased the BNP in Solihull. and to offer an anti establishment alternative that can challenge the politics of hate.

“Only by winning votes from the disenfranchised and changing the narrative can we defeat the far right, which the Green Party is helping to do.”

A Green Party Spokesperson said: "We are surprised to see Julian Knight make lurid allegations about Solihull Green Party in Parliament today, on the basis of an out-of-date Green Party document.

“This is rank hypocrisy from Mr Knight because the Conservative Party's own manual advises their activists to go further in engaging BNP voters, by writing directly to them, urging them to vote Conservative.

"Therefore, Julian Knight is either engaging in opportunistic hypocrisy, he doesn't know his own party's policies, or he just wants to waste time in Parliament which could be better used discussing the issues raised by his Government's own racism, like the hostile environment and the separation of refugee and migrant families.

"One of the wards our councillors represent was once held by the BNP, having been taken for granted by the major parties for many years. Many councillors got involved at a local level in order to defeat the BNP.

"The Green Party has been able to offer an alternative message of hope, instead of hate, that takes people's concerns seriously- listening to voters regardless of their background - and voters have switched to the Green Party in their droves. At the last election in the once-BNP ward of Chelmsley Wood, the Green Party won 78% of the vote – the largest Green vote share in the country that year - this speaks volumes.

"It's convenient for the Conservatives to take this unnecessary swipe at Solihull's Green councillors, because they want to distract from the two racist Councillors they were forced to suspend earlier this year, one of which they seem to be courting to return. We are bringing about real change in Solihull and holding them to account. It shows we are making significant progress and underscores that this is part of a coordinated assault on the Green Party in light of the gains we are making in the area."