ACCLAIMED autism campaigner Anna Kennedy has issued strongly worded criticism of TV personality Katie Hopkins for calling a nine-year-old autistic girl 'a t***' and comparing her to a pig.

Katie Hopkins, 40, a mother-of-three, posted the comments on Twitter about Channel 4's documentary Born Naughty? which showed a nine-year-old child named Honey being diagnosed with mild autism.

She wrote: "Honey can't complete the autism assessment as she is too busy being a complete t***" and "Honey is completing a story about three little pigs. She identifies strongly with this animal."

Anna Kennedy, from Middlesbrough, a mother of two adult autistic sons, has devoted her adult life to autism campaigning and has her own charity, Anna Kennedy Online.

She said she had been "inundated" with calls from outraged parents from across the region asking her to publicly respond on their behalf.

Mrs Kennedy, a patron of The Daisy Chain charity in Norton, near Stockton, which helps families dealing with autism, said: "Whilst I understand that Hopkins makes comments designed to boost her notoriety, in my opinion this is totally unacceptable when the subject is a disabled child.

"Within the framework of The Equality Act her comments would be seen as harassment if they were said in school. I would urge Hopkins to inform herself about her effects of autism before she makes mean and hurtful comments."