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Shaun Bailey is the Conservative Party's candidate for Mayor of London - and he is perhaps most famous for having made a number of inflammatory comments about women.

This morning, during an increasingly awkward interview with Sky News' Sophy Ridge, he was confronted with two of them.

Mr Bailey, who in December was polling a stonking 27 points behind Sadiq Khan , does not have the luxury of being able to blame youth for the unfortunate remarks - he was 37 when he made them.

But in a few short minutes he found and delivered a dazzling array of reasons to defend them.

Here's the comments he was defending - and a full list of the excuses he gave.

Statement 1: Good looking women 'tend to have been around'

In a pamphlet for the Centre for Policy Studies think tank in 2005, he wrote about his experience with sex education as a youth worker.

He wrote: "The boys have got this opinion that if a girl looks clean, and that generally means she’s good looking, she appeals to them, it is less likely she’ll have an infection”

He went on to say that when he talked to teenagers, he would warn them: "If a girl appeals to one that way, she’ll appeal to all of them. She’ll tend to have been around."

It wasn't mentioned in the interview, but he went on to complain about condoms, which prevent sexually transmitted infections, being handed out to teenagers in schools, because it "makes sex more possible."

Here's some of the excuses he gave for that one.

1. I didn't say that

"So two things, I never actually said that..."

He did. It's here.

2. ...It was a conversation

"...that is me having a conversation with someone."

Oh, you did say it? Glad we got that cleared up.

3. I was talking to poor people

"But let’s be clear, I’m talking about a very poor community facing very tough outcomes."

It is unclear why talking to poor people rather than better off people changes the character of his comments.

4. I was mythbusting

"That’s about mythbusting, because we’re talking about boys who live in a very sexualised environment. It’s traded as a way of being popular or not."

It is unclear why it is better to replace a myth that people are likely to be free of infection with a myth that attractive people are likely to be promiscuous.

5. Did I mention they were poor?

"And as I said, you’re talking about the poorest communities, and dealing with the toughest issues. It’s people like me who are on the front line having those conversations."

Again, it is unclear why characterising attractive women as promiscuous is more appropriate based on the wealth of who you're talking to.

6. What do you think youth workers are doing?

"What makes me laugh about your slick, career politicians who run around saying nice things about communities, they always talk about youth work.

"What do they think youth workers are doing? What kind of conversations do they think we're having that other people won’t have with young people?"

Many, we imagine, would hope that youth workers are not talking about young women in that manner.

7. It wasn't the smoothest language

"Of course, was it the smoothest language? Of course not.

"And if anybody’s thinking ‘why did he say that?’

"Remember, you’re talking about 10-15 years ago, when I was faced with young people who are being stabbed, murdered and all kinds of things - the language isn’t the smoothest, but I’m not sitting at home thinking ‘what will look good on Sky?’ - I’m thinking how can I get across to these people?"

Mr Bailey's team has previously dismissed this particular comment as "raw", "blunt" and the work of a man who "hasn’t figured it all out".

Mr Bailey now appears to be saying that the sentiment was fine, but the language was the problem.

8. You have to mirror the language young people are using

"And of course, young people I’m speaking to, I’m having to mirror the language they’re using."

OK.

Statement 2: Single mums are unacceptable, or at least undesirable

In a 2006 article for the Telegraph, Mr Bailey explained "the reason our streets are so violent' - and gave an account of his time growing up in London.

He wrote: "Many of the first single mums were housed in my part of London, reassuring them that it was acceptable - even desirable - for mothers to have babies on their own.

"That assumption is flawed because we now know that a child growing up without a father is so much more likely to be disadvantaged."

Again, it's not brought up in the interview, but he goes on to suggest women deliberately become pregnant in order to claim benefits.

He wrote: "For example, any young girl living in the inner city will be clued up on how the system works.

"They won't be too careful about not becoming parents. In some cases, they will deliberately become pregnant - as they know that if they do, they will get a flat."

So has he changed his view?

9. Poor people make themselves vulnerable to get benefits

"We had a system, and in many ways we still do now, which encourages poor communities to make themselves vulnerable in order to receive benefits or be supported."

No. No, he hasn't changed his view.