Massachusetts senator Elizabeth Warren has accused former New York mayor Mike Bloomberg of telling a female employee to have an abortion as they clashed at the Democratic debate in Charleston, South Carolina.

Ms Warren recounted her experience of losing her job as a teacher when she became pregnant at the age of 21.

She added: "At least I didn't have a boss who said to me 'kill it', the way that Mayor Bloomberg is alleged to have said to one of his pregnant employees. People want a chance to hear from women."

Mr Bloomberg replied: "I never said that. Ah come on. And for the record, if she was a teacher in New York City she would never have had that problem. We treated our teachers the right way and the unions will tell you exactly that."

Ms Warren was referring to an allegation at the centre of a 1997 lawsuit by a former Bloomberg employee, Sekiko Sakai Garrison. The businessman denied the claim under oath but later reached a settlement with Ms Garrison.

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The accusation emerged again this year when the Washington Post reported that a third person had corroborated the story.

Ms Warren wasted little time in the debate in picking up her attacks on the the former New York mayor, following their clashes during the previous Democratic debate in Las Vegas last week.