Manchester Tory candidate dropped after racist tweets

Charalampos Kagouras was due to stand for the Conservatives in Manchester

A Conservative candidate has been dropped from the party days ahead of the local elections after racist tweets were uncovered.

Charalampos Kagouras, who was due to stand in Charlestown, Manchester, tweeted in April about "no go areas" in Cheetham Hill and Rusholme.

However he will still appear on the ballot paper because the deadline has passed for alteration.

The Conservative Party said it did not tolerate any form of racism.

A spokesperson added: "Mr Kagouras is no longer a Conservative Party candidate and would not be allowed to join the Conservative group if elected."

Mr Kagouras has been contacted for a response.

The Twitter account in question has since been removed from social media.

Mr Kagouras will still appear on the ballot paper despite being dropped by the Conservatives

Mr Kagouras also tweeted that British passports should be taken away from Muslims in 2017, the Manchester Evening News (MEN) reported.

The MEN reported he had earlier complained on Twitter that Muslim preachers were playing "ISIS" music on Market Street in Manchester and suggested Europe should be for white people.

The chairman of the Conservative Party, Brandon Lewis, who was campaigning in Bury earlier, said dropping Mr Kagouras showed the party does not tolerate racism.

Mr Lewis said: "I think the local team have made the right decision. There is a standard of behaviour and level of respect we expect all members to have.

"From what I've seen what was said was completely unacceptable. We won't tolerate that kind of behaviour in the Conservative party."