Candidate sorry for 'Gordon Brown worst PM' remarks

A Labour candidate who described Gordon Brown as the "worst Prime Minister" in the run-up to the General Election apologised today.

Manish Sood caused uproar when he spoke out just days before the General Election, calling Mr Brown "incompetent" and saying he did not "know what he was talking about".

Mr Sood, who lives in Leicester but was standing in the North West Norfolk constituency, was suspended by the party after he came third in the seat.

Today, he said he hoped to resolve the situation as he apologised for his remarks.

In an interview with the Leicester Mercury, Mr Sood, a city councillor in Leicester's Fosse ward, said: "I didn't realise it would cause so much havoc. It was the last thing the party needed just before an election.

"I suppose that without all that negative publicity we might have won a few more seats. I stand by what I said, but not how I said it. Looking back, I should have raised my concerns more discreetly."