NATALIE BENNETT was last night under pressure to abandon a “green tie” fundraiser, with access to senior figures being flogged for a £1,000 donation.

The Green leader is the keynote speaker at a dinner for wealthy would-be donors set to be staged at a 4-Star hotel in central London later this month.

Guests, who must make a minimum donation of £1,000, will have the chance to rub shoulders with “lead candidates and senior party figures.”

They will also be treated to a champagne reception and three-course meal, according to an advert for the event.

The invitation provoked a furious response when it was posted on the Green Party’s official website yesterday and was deleted within an hour.

The Political Scrapbook blog pointed out entry to the Green’s fundraiser costs twice the price of a standard ticket to the Tories’ infamous Black and White ball.

Some of the Green Party’s own activists are reportedly planning to picket the event if it goes ahead.

And the Star has seen a letter of protest sent to party leaders by the Young Greens national executive committee member Georgia Elander.

The letter, signed by more than 60 leading youth activists, said they found the plans “deeply troubling.”

“The Green Party prides itself on its democratic and egalitarian values and processes, and has never been one to court the influence of the better-off,” it says.

“To hold an event explicitly open only to the wealthy, and to offer access to the party’s leadership at a price, is a betrayal of these values.”

The group also accused organisers of “mimicking this elitist and exclusionary culture” by using the term “carriages” on the invitation.

The Green Party had not responded to a request for comment as the Star went to press.

It was also forced to fend off criticism yesterday after new research revealed it has fewer ethnic minority candidates than any other party — including Ukip.

Just 15 of the Green’s 357 selected candidates are from BME backgrounds, according to a University College London study.

Green equalities spokesman Benali Hamdache said the party is “committed to standing up for the rights and concerns of BME communities” and had launched a new BME members group at its spring conference last week.