Tory MP urges his supporters not to mention 'the Conservative Party or David Cameron' in campaign material

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A Tory MP has urged his supporters not to 'mention the Conservative Party or David Cameron' when sending out letters in support of him.

Gavin Barwell, who is fighting the key London marginal of Croydon, has asked constituents to sign letters to friends and neighbours supporting his re-election.

But Mr Barwell was left red-faced after it emerged he sent out 'sample' letters designed to make it look like they were written by ordinary constituents.

Gavin Barwell, who is fighting the key London marginal of Croydon, has asked constituents to sign letters to friends and neighbours supporting his re-election

The letters, seen by the Evening Standard, all appeared to be written in exactly the same style.

They were full of similar phrases – with each beginning with 'Dear neighbour' and went on to describe an incident where Mr Barwell helped them.

They often ended with the phrase: 'I really can't recommend Gavin strongly enough.'

In a letter to constituents asking them to endorse him, Mr Barwell writes: 'I'm not asking you to write a political letter — in fact, it'll be much more effective if it doesn't mention the Conservative Party or David Cameron.'

Asked if he or his team wrote the sample letters, he said: 'People write their own letters, I've not written anything. These are genuine constituents that we have helped who wanted to write a letter. I think in one case we helped with the drafting. They are not fake letters.'

'I'm therefore writing to ask if you would be prepared to write to people in your neighbourhood saying why you think I am a good local MP.'

One Labour MP compared his letter with the bungling Fawlty Towers manager Basil Fawlty telling staff 'don't mention the war' in front of German guests.

Mr Barwell has urged his supporters not to 'mention the Conservative Party or David Cameron' when sending out letters in support of him

Labour MP Stephen Pound mocked: 'It's a case of 'Don't mention the Tories!'

Mr Barwell insisted he just did not want the endorsements to be too political and that he had put Mr Cameron on his own leaflets.

He said: 'The purpose is not to send political letters. The purpose of the letters is a personal endorsement of my work as MP.

'My own election leaflets will be full of mentions of both David Cameron and the Conservative Party.

'These letters are different. They are from ordinary people telling their story. I don't think people doing that will be comfortable making party political points.'

But Sarah Jones, the Labour candidate for Croydon Central, told the Standard: 'It's a sign of real desperation that Gavin Barwell is actively telling people not to call him a Tory. He's trying to pull the wool over people's eyes.

'If people were wondering if the Tory brand had become toxic in Croydon, he's the proof you need.

'However hard he tries, he can't run away from his voting record — voting for deep cuts, privatisation of the NHS, the bedroom tax and trebling tuition fees.'