A ROW has erupted in Ryedale after Liberal Democrat election candidate Keith Orrell was accused of using false information in an effort to win the seat.

Both Conservative John Greenway and Labour candidate David Ellis claimed their opponent was spreading incorrect statements in his campaign literature.

But Mr Orrell said his statements were based on fact.

Mr Greenway has written to him after Mr Orrell stated that the Ryedale Conservative was campaigning for a £20 billion cut in public services.

And the Liberal Democrat campaign literature states that Mr Greenway had opposed a new sports facility at Malton School.

Mr Greenway said no evidence was put forward to support the claim about cuts, and he had backed the Malton School proposal and spoken with Sport England about funding for it.

He said: "I am campaigning positively on the Conservative manifesto and on my standing as the MP for Ryedale since 1987.

"Yet Mr Orrell seems only capable of campaigning on smears, lies and scurrilous allegations, none of which have any foundation whatsoever."

Mr Ellis has taken exception to a Liberal Democrat leaflet which states that Labour has "no local councillors in this part of Ryedale."

He said the leaflet was found in Kirkbymoorside, where a Labour councillor has a seat.

And he said a graph showing support for the three main parties in the constituency was misleading, showing the correct figures but in boxes which are not to scale.

Mr Orrell said: "I don't think the graph is misleading, it merely serves to show more clearly that this election is against the Conservatives and Liberal Democrats in Ryedale.

Replying to Mr Greenway, Mr Orrell said the Conservative had backed Ryedale councillors who voted against applying for a lottery bid by Malton School.

And he said: "Clearly there is great confusion about Conservative tax cuts, but whatever the figure, it means more cuts to local public services."

Updated: 11:53 Saturday, June 02, 2001