Lewisham Labour chair Emily Thornberry Islamic State tweets criticised

Ian McKenzie tweeted IS would behead Emily Thornberry instead of taking her as a sex slave

A Labour Party constituency boss has been criticised for tweets about the shadow foreign secretary being beheaded by the Islamic State (IS) group.

Lewisham East Constituency Labour Party (CLP) chairman Ian McKenzie said the group would behead Emily Thornberry instead of taking her as a sex slave.

Critics have described the tweets from 2015 and 2016 as "vile".

The local Labour Party declined to comment, the Local Democracy Reporter Service said.

One 2016 tweet read: "Emily Thornberry is too old for ISIS [another name for IS]. They won't make a sex slave of her. They'll behead her and dump her in a mass grave."

A 2015 tweet, which appeared in a thread about Ms Thornberry's comments about the terrorist group, said: "Maybe she'd agree sex slavery to one man only, provided he didn't sell her on or insist on gang rape."

The tweets were brought to light by left-wing political activist and Guardian columnist Owen Jones.

Mandu Reid, who is standing for the Women's Equality Party in the Lewisham Easy by-election, called the tweets "abhorrent".

She said: "They are clearly sexist and require an immediate apology.

"If he is kept on it will signal, very clearly, just how invincible the Labour Party feels in Lewisham."

The Labour Party has been contacted for comment.

Candidates in Lewisham East by-election

Ross Archer - Conservatives

Janet Daby - Labour

Massimo DiMambro - Democrats and Veterans Party

Howling Laud Hope - Monster Raving Loony Party

David Kurten - UKIP

Mandu Reid - Women's Equality Party

Lucy Salek - Liberal Democrats

Anne Marie Waters - For Britain