A Conservative councillor has been suspended for sharing an article which referred to Muslims as “parasites.”

His suspension come just a day after he visited a mosque with the party’s deputy chairman.

Mike Payne, a councillor for Sowerby Bridge, has been suspended pending an investigation into the post, which he posted to Twitter and Facebook in 2013.

The article was entitled “France Slashes Benefits to Muslim Parasites by 83%”

The article read: “You know things are bad when even the socialists are fed up with having to support the Muslim freeloaders. It seems that immigration policies of France, are seriously changing.

“The country is no longer able to hold back the crowd of Muslim invaders, many of whom do not want to integrate into the social and economic life of their new home country, and are content to live off the state and breed like rabbits.”

A Conservative Party spokesperson said: “Mr Payne has been suspended by the Party pending an investigation.”

Yesterday, Mr Payne visited the Al-Ghousia Mosque in Halifax, along with Tory Deputy Chairman James Cleverly.

In a Twitter post marking the day, Mr Cleverly said: “Fantastic chat about standing together against aggression and abuse wherever it comes from and wherever it is directed.”

Shadow Justice Minister Yasmin Quereshi told Politics Home: “Language like this is wholly offensive and has no place in politics or our community.

“The use of ‘parasite’ is a vile slur, leaving the Tories with questions to answer over how they handle this case.

“If Theresa May doesn’t want the public to think the Tories are the Nasty Party, she needs to take appropriate action immediately.”