Jair Bolsonaro lashed out at a journalist for having a “homosexual’s face” during a heated press conference in which the Brazilian president reacted angrily to questions over his son’s alleged corruption.

Mr Bolsonaro accused the press of bias against him and his son, Senator Flavio Bolsonaro, who is being investigated by prosecutors in Rio de Janeiro over allegations that he hired staff with no duties while he was a state legislator.

Senator Bolsonaro is also being investigated over claims that those “ghost” workers kicked back part of their salaries to be laundered through a chocolate shop that he owns.

The younger Bolsonaro has denied all allegations of wrongdoing.

The accusations have bugged President Bolsonaro, who was elected on a mandate to be tough on crime and purge Brazil’s political class of corruption.

Mr Bolsonaro’s predecessor, Michel Temer, was arrested earlier this year as part of Lava Jato, or Operation Car Wash, a money-laundering investigation. Mr Temer’s predecessor, Dilma Rousseff, was impeached in 2016 for breaking Brazil’s federal budget laws.

Mr Bolsonaro has frequently attacked the press, questioning the credibility of the mainstream media and criticising what he says as unfair coverage, particularly from the Globe network.