British election candidate dropped after online sex talk

Britain's ruling Labour Party has suspended a candidate ahead of the May 6 general election, it said yesterday, after he boasted about his sex life online.

John Cowan, 35, was also accused of saying he "would not be happy" if his children dated a Muslim, the Sunday Telegraph newspaper said.

Describing his sex life, Mr Cowan reportedly wrote: "Why limit it to just one woman? I would prefer one for each day of the week!"

He was dropped two weeks after Prime Minister Gordon Brown's Labour banned another candidate, Stuart MacLennan, from standing in a Scottish seat due to his foul-mouthed rants on micro-blogging site Twitter.

Mr MacLennan abused figures including Mr Brown's main rivals Conservative leader David Cameron, whom he called a "twat", and Nick Clegg of the Liberal Democrats, who was labelled a "bastard".

A spokesman for Labour said Mr Cowan's alleged comments on dating and motoring websites were "totally unacceptable".

"The general secretary of the Labour party has suspended the candidate from the Labour party and we are taking action to ensure he is never again a Labour candidate," she said.

"The Labour party's relevant committees will be asked to consider whether he should be expelled."

Mr Cowan was Labour's candidate in the South East Cambridgeshire constituency in eastern England, seen as a Conservative stronghold.

Defending himself, he told the Sunday Telegraph: "I post what I think. I think to be honest, there is a level of transparency there that isn't normally associated with many people in politics."