Jeremy Corbyn says he's proud of all Labour candidates - including Ian Byrne

8 November 2019, 09:49 | Updated: 8 November 2019, 09:57

Controversial Labour candidate Ian Byrne was on stage with Jeremy Corbyn last night as the Labour leader said how proud he was of all his candidates.

LBC has revealed how the Labour Parliamentary candidate made a number of foul-mouthed social media posts against female politicians.

Mr Byrne, who is running in the safe-seat of Liverpool West Derby, shared a message about Baroness Michelle Mone, the founder of underwear brand Ultimo, which called to “hit the c*** where it hurts.”

The post, shared in 2015 on Facebook, then received comments calling for violence against Baroness Mone, and accused her of betraying her working-class roots.

Labour were aware of Mr Byrne's previous controversial comments. In September, he was forced to issue a public apology after the Mail on Sunday reported that Byrne wrote “it can only be a matter of time before Boris Johnson’s mum comes forward and tells us that she was raped by Jimmy Saville in 1963.”

But last night, Mr Byrne was standing directly behind Jeremy Corbyn as he praised the work of Labour's candidates.

Speaking in Manchester, the Labour leader said: "I am very proud of the work done by all my colleagues, some of whom are behind me here today.

"And I'm very proud of all the work that is going into our manifesto for this election."

Mr Byrne's election leaflet includes quotes from some of Labour's biggest names.

Among them are John McDonnell, who said of the candidate: "Ian is a great supporter of Jeremy's leadership and the left's project of transforming our party and our society."

Laura Pidcock, the Shadow Secretary for Employment, wrote: "He has my full support."