FURIOUS city leaders have hit back at claims by the Hungarian government that mass immigration has turned Southampton into a no-go zone.

An 18-page pamphlet posted to millions of Hungarian households says the authorities are unable to maintain control in parts of Southampton and other European cities.

But the move has sparked an angry backlash from community leaders, who are calling on Hungary to issue a public apology.

Royston Smith, Tory MP for Southampton Itchen, said: "I don't think the comments made about the city could be further from the truth.

"Southampton has a significant migrant population but most of the integration has been seamless and the migrants have mostly been welcomed by the indigenous population.

"They are certainly no no-go areas in the city as far as I'm aware.

"The Hungarian government should acknowledge that they got their facts wrong and then apologise for having done so.

"Their comments are totally unacceptable."

Cllr Jeremy Moulton, leader of the opposition group on the city council, described the pamphlet as "inflammatory and inaccurate".

He said: "It's not a description of Southampton that I remotely recognise."

Alan Whitehead, Labour MP for Southampton Test, said the "absurd" allegations were a "seriously misguided" view of the UK and added: "Perhaps representations ought to be made to put that right."

The pamphlet claims a dozen British cities, including London, Southampton and Peterborough, contain no-go zones for non-migrants.

They have been published as part of the Hungarian government's campaign to reject the EU's plan to impose migrant quotas on its member states.

Next month Hungary will hold a referendum on whether to accept the refugee resettlement scheme.

Urging the population to vote "No" the pamphlet says: "In those European cities where immigrants live in great numbers, several hundred 'no-go' zones exist. Norms do not apply."

Hungary's foreign minister, Peter Szijjarto, added: "We based this information on open, official reports given by the police of the respective countries and from the news.

"There are no-go zones in Europe and we don't want no-go zones in Hungary."

But the British embassy in Budapest has lodged an official complaint about the comments.

A Foreign Office spokesman added: "The leaflet is clearly inaccurate. There are no areas of the UK in which laws of the UK cannot be enforced."

A Hungarian government website says its anti-migrant stance stems from its fear of a terrorist attack.

A ticking clock on the website warns "an immigrant arrives every 12 seconds" and "we do not know many of them are disguised as terrorists".