A UKIP Parliamentary candidate compared gay people marching against racism to “Jews for Hitler”.

The claim comes from the UK Independence Party candidate for Bristol South, Ian Kealey.

The Bristol Post reports that Mr Kealey mocked LGBT people for marching under a banner that read “no to racism & fascism” and “no to Islamophobia”.

Mr Kealey tweeted: “#LGBT marching against #Islamophobia ?!? It’s like Jews marching for Hitler”.

In a string of other controversial messages Mr Kealey also claimed that “open doors” had led to an “epidemic of rape and riot”.

The candidate also claimed the UK’s domestic violence laws are “grossly unfair”, claiming that “on the word of a woman police will arrest any man she accuses, no evidence required”.

Mr Smyth, who has since deleted some of the messages, told the newspaper: “I’m pleased to see my tweets are being read, but a pity that in some cases the purpose is only to try to bring me down in some way!

“I don’t think there is anything in the claims.”

Responding to criticism, he claimed “Liberals don’t like to lose arguments. Unfortunately, they often lose arguments because they don’t have very good counter-arguments.”

“Instead of losing graciously, Liberals tend to hurl misguided insults at their opponent. In UKIP we are used to Liberals, and others in established parties, and dare I say the MSM, hurling insults at us when they are losing arguments.”

He is not the first UKIP candidate to come under scrutiny during the 2017 campaign

PinkNews reported earlier this month that the party picked controversial candidate Alan Craig to run in the seat of Witney.

The seat, which will be defended by Conservative Robert Courts, was represented by former Prime Minister David Cameron from 2001 until his resignation in 2016.

Mr Craig, who has repeatedly referred to the LGBT lobby as the ‘Gaystapo’, came under scrutiny during the 2015 election when it emerged he had ties to ‘gay cure’ practitioners.

A former leader of the fringe Christian Peoples Alliance, Mr Craig has repeatedly referred to LGBT people evoking Nazi imagery.

Meanwhile, the UKIP candidate selected to face gay Conservative Mike Freer has criticised “militant homosexuals” and claimed equal marriage was an “attack on Christianity… destroying the institution of marriage”