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Labour candidate under 14 civil restraint orders said Jo Cox death 'bereft of evidence'

'Obsessive': Mandy Richards is the subject of 14 separate extended civil restraint orders - TWITTER
'Obsessive': Mandy Richards is the subject of 14 separate extended civil restraint orders - TWITTER

A Labour parliamentary candidate has faced criticism over tweets she sent last year questioning the murder of MP Jo Cox and the terror attacks at Westminster and Manchester.

Mandy Richards, who has been selected for the marginal seat of Worcester, tweeted: “Glad someone asking right questions about #terror coverage. #JoCox incident conveniently bereft of evidence too.”

Along with this message she posted a video by a conspiracy theorist which suggests footage around the Westminster attack was edited and faked.

Labour MP John Woodcock said of her Jo Cox tweet: "We would be outraged if any other party picked a candidate who said this about the murder of our friend. We should care even more about getting our own house in order."

The candidate, a strong supporter of Jeremy Corbyn, also questioned the coverage around the Manchester Arena attack, writing: “Can news agencies, police or anyone else for that matter explain why still no images/footage of physical damage at #ManchesterArena?”

Ms Richards declined to comment on the content of her tweets.

Mandy Richards questioned the death of Jo Cox
Mandy Richards questioned the death of Jo Cox

Many have asked Labour to explain her selection after the comments emerged.

Mike Foster, the former Labour MP for Worcester, tweeted: “Will someone from @UKLabour please put a stop to this. Having "no comment" from u is difficult to defend on local radio; to Labour members in Worcester and most importantly, to the voters in Worcester I had the privilege to serve.”

Her tweets questioned the terror attacks
Her tweets questioned the terror attacks

Eyebrows were first raised over her selection over the weekend after it that emerged she is under 14 extended civil restraint orders by the High Court.

Labour made a point of selecting candidates early for key marginal seats it intends to fight in the next general election.

Labour MP Jo Cox was murdered in 2016 - Credit: Jo Cox Foundation
Labour MP Jo Cox was murdered in 2016 Credit: Jo Cox Foundation

The candidate chosen for Worcester is banned from bringing court actions without a judge's permission after false and vexatious claims against MI5, MI6, the Metropolitan police, the army, Thames Water, her gas, electricity and broadband suppliers, Royal Mail, Hackney council, her GP and the freeholder of her flat.

The candidate was also described as “obsessive” by Shadow Home Secretary Diane Abbott, after getting the politician to testify in court during one of her vexatious claims.

Former Labour Party head of research Tom Hamilton said the selection of Mandy Richards was “extraordinary” following the revelations.

He tweeted: “Looks like Worcester may struggle to get its fair share of shadow cabinet visits.”

Westminster Labour councillor David Boothroyd said: “Had those of us in West Central, or who knew all about the farcical election petition, been aware that Mandy Richards was going for Parliamentary selections, we would certainly have alerted the local CLPs.”

Mandy Richards posted a response to the reporting around the civil restraint orders on her Facebook page, writing: "I apologise to Labour Party members for any consternation or upset the articles published this weekend have caused but I can assure you the cases brought were well above board."

The Labour Party declined to comment.