The campaign to remove a statue of Cecil Rhodes at Oriel College has been criticised by former South African president FW De Klerk.

The Rhodes Must Fall in Oxford campaign group has called for the statue of the colonial politician to be removed, claiming Rhodes was a racist and imperialist who should not be commemorated in such a way.

But Mr De Klerk, who released Nelson Mandela from prison and worked with him to end apartheid, said the statue should not be removed.

The college erected the statue and a separate plaque of Rhodes after he left a legacy to help fund the Rhodes Scholarship programme.

In a letter to The Times Mr De Klerk said Rhodes had made an impact on history "for better or worse", which included the positive contribution of his scholarship scheme at Oxford.

He said: "If the political correctness of today were applied consistently, very few of Oxford's great figures would pass scrutiny."

Mr De Klerk added that although Rhodes had been the "architect" of the Anglo-Boer War and that many white Afrikaners disliked him because of this, the National Party which governed South Africa during the apartheid era had never tried to remove his name from history.

He said if Oriel College felt Rhodes bequest was so "reprehensible" it should consider returning the moeny to the victims of British imperialism in South Africa.

More than 2,300 people have signed a petition calling for the removal of the statue.

Oriel College agreed to remove the plaque in King Edward Street and will consult on whether or not to take down the statue which faces on to High Street.