The Conservative Party has called in a psychologist in a bid to rid the party of its "nasty" image.

Central Office hopes that professor Jo Silvester, an occupational psychologist at Goldsmiths College in London, will be able help the Tories recruit more women MPs.

Party bosses are seeking to move away from the traditional white male, middle class Conservative stereotype.

Theresa May has introduced "psychometric testing" for prospective parliamentary candidates, a move to break the grip of the Tory old guard - branded the "nasty party" by the Conservative chairman.

New candidates will be examined for skills including "tolerance", "ability to relate easily to people from all backgrounds", "approachability" and ability to listen.

"We have used an occupational psychologist," May told the BBC.

"For the first time ever a political party has sat down and said what are the competencies needed to be an MP, let's judge people properly against those competencies. We are actually at the cutting edge."

The Tory chairman, who is the first woman to get the top job, "fully accepts that there is more for us as a party to do in terms of getting more women selected".

Only eight per cent of Conservative MPs are women - and May admitted that of 60 local associations in target seats only nine had chosen women.

Central Office has called a temporary halt to the selection process while party chiefs look at what can be done.

"We have decided not to select until after May," said the party chairman.

"That gives us an opportunity in a proper, professional and businesslike way to look at the process we have been through and say is it still the right process, is there anything we need to change?"

May insisted that while progress was slow the situation was improving.

"We have made some progress. At the same stage of the selection process in the previous parliament we had only selected three women, so we have made some progress," she said.