Ex-Conservative Party chair switches sides on EU referendum over 'racist' tactics

Sayeeda Warsi, the former chair of the Conservative party, has switched sides because of the tone of the Brexit campaign.

Nigel Farage poses in front of a EU referendum campaign poster in London. Source: AP

A former Conservative Party chair has switched sides in Britain's upcoming European Union referendum, accusing campaigners promoting an exit from the 28-nation bloc of peddling hate and xenophobia.

Sayeeda Warsi said Monday that moderate voices in the "leave" campaign have been drowned out.

Warsi is one of the most prominent Muslim politicians in Britain. She said her decision was sparked by a poster depicting a crowd of migrants walking through Europe with a warning in capital letters that said: BREAKING POINT.

Warsi told the BBC that "this kind of nudge-nudge, wink-wink xenophobic racist campaign may be politically savvy or politically useful in the short term, but it causes long-term damage to communities."

Campaigners for "leave" were bemused by her decision, saying they weren't even aware she had been a supporter.

The UK Independence party will "replace" this controversial billboard, featuring the desperate faces of refugees and migrants.

Three opinion polls ahead of Thursday's vote showed the 'Remain' camp recovering some momentum although the overall picture remained one of an evenly split electorate.

The murder of Jo Cox, a 41-year-old mother of two young children, shocked Britain, raised questions about the tone of campaigning and could yet prove a defining moment in what is Britain's biggest political decision for decades.

Both sides sought to adopt a more measured style on Sunday, paying their respects to Cox but sticking closely to the immigration versus economy debate that has defined the campaign.

"I hope, because of the tragic death of Jo, we can have a less divisive political debate in our country," finance minister George Osborne, a leading conservative 'Remain' campaigner, told ITV's Peston on Sunday show.

"Particularly in the last few days of this referendum we're going to have less baseless assertion and inflammatory rhetoric and more reasoned argument and facts," he said.

Cox, a Labour Party lawmaker and ardent supporter of EU membership, was shot and stabbed in the street in her electoral district in northern England on Thursday. A 52-year-old man has been charged with her murder and appeared in a London magistrate's court on Saturday.

Both 'Remain' and 'Leave' halted their campaigns until Sunday morning.

But the heated nature of the debate, which has so far seen 'In' campaigners accused of scaremongering on the economy and the 'Out' campaign's immigration focus criticised as divisive, soon resurfaced after the temporary truce.

Osborne criticised as "disgusting and vile" a poster unveiled by 'Leave' campaigners last week showing a line of refugees under the slogan 'Breaking Point', saying it was reminiscent of literature used in the 1930s.

Prime Minister David Cameron said the poster was an attempt to scare voters and divide the electorate.

UK Independence Party (UKIP) leader Nigel Farage, who was pictured in front of the poster, said the EU had failed to control immigration properly and had compromised safety in Europe by allowing in religious extremists who wanted to attack Western states.