Tweet this: Brown fires U.K. candidate

Rude tweets put an end to politician's run for office

Published April 9, 2010 12:39PM (EDT)

Britain's governing Labour Party says it has dumped a candidate in the national election after he made offensive comments about political foes on Twitter.

Stuart MacLennan, who was running in the Moray district in northern Scotland, made obscene attacks about rival parties and labeled elderly voters as "coffin dodgers."

The 24-year-old MacLennan -- who wasn't expected to win the seat -- is the first scalp of Britain's election campaign, which began Tuesday and ends with a May 6 poll.

Prime Minister Gordon Brown, whose Labour Party trails the Conservatives in opinion polls, said Friday that MacLennan's Twitter comments were "unacceptable" and demanded he resign. MacLennan said he "been stupid and rightly paid a high price."


By Associated Press

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