A Labour councillor who was deselected has resigned accusing the local party of not dealing with complaints of racism, anti-Semitism and homophobia.

Hartlepool councillor Allan Barclay told the BBC that he witnessed ‘anti-Semitism, racism, homophobia, disability discrimination and a general disrespect towards others’.

He accused Labour of not doing anything to address these problems.

A Labour Party spokesperson described Cllr Barclay’s claims as ‘baseless’.

‘Allan Barclay was deselected as a Labour candidate by his local party and therefore could not stand as a Labour candidate in the upcoming local elections,’ the spokesperson said.

‘We reject his dangerous rhetoric and baseless claims.

‘The Labour Party takes all complaints extremely seriously, which are investigated in line with our robust rules and procedures. We cannot comment on specific cases.’

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