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TV presenter Matthew Wright is under fire for suggesting a Labour Party candidate "deserved no sympathy" for being sexual harassed because it was her own fault.

Emily Owen has said she has been bombarded with inappropriate messages since announcing she stand for election in Aberconwy, Wales.

This has included people asking how big her “rack” is and “How many votes for a striptease”.

She was forced to defend herself in an angry Facebook post, saying she was “shocked” by the abuse she was getting.

(Image: Daily Post Wales)

Now Channel 5 presenter Matthew Wright said Ms Owen deserved the vile comments as she should be more savvy in a digital age.

He told viewers on The Wright Stuff: “The trouble is, I’m struggling to feel much sympathy for Emily, leaving such images on social media was naive at best, I would suggest.

“Bosses keep telling us, quite openly, about routine checks on Facebook when hiring new staff and while she has every right to wear as much or as little as she likes, and likewise to post as many pictures as she chooses.

(Image: Channel 5)

“She has to accept in the world of social media it’s full of inadequate perverts who get their kicks out of trolling people which may explain why Owen has since changed her Facebook settings to private.”

But the comments didn’t go down too well with the other panelists.

Former Coronation Street actress Shobna Gulati, who played Sunita in the long-running soap, slammed the presenter by saying: “What’s wrong with showing your boobs?”

To which he replied: “Nothing, but you can’t complain about it.”

And his comments didn’t go down too well online either.

(Image: Daily Post Wales) (Image: Daily Post Wales)

Labour Councillor for Llandaf North, Jennifer Burke Davies, took to Twitter to vent her frustration, Wales Online reports.

She wrote: “Why is @5WrightStuff blaming Emily Owen for the vile, sexist & misogynistic abuse she has received online? Backward victim blaming.

“How dare a woman stand for Parliament, she must absolutely expect to receive such abuse. What a crock of old crap. Give me a break and trolling her social media pages to use pictures of her to reinforce your point is really gross @5WrightStuff.

“She was right to speak out, women should be as free as men to stand for parliamentary seats or literally any other job without fear of receiving such vile, inappropriate comments. The continued sexualisation of women to belittle them is infuriating.”

Since writing the angry response on Facebook, Ms Owen has had her pictures from her profile taken from national papers.

The snaps show the candidate in a police uniform, but Ms Owen says they were taken without her permission.

She told the Daily Post: “The pictures that some papers used were from nights out when I was 19. I wasn’t in a business meeting, nor was I talking politics - and I did not supply the newspapers with these images.

“Nevertheless they chose to undermine my experience, rather than deal with the fact that some men can write such aggressive comments to a young woman with no accountability. This is disappointing.”

(Image: WALES NEWS SERVICE)

She added: “The comments I received from men are not acceptable and the abusive comments relating to speaking out have been equally unacceptable.

“I am a young woman who has put her head above the parapet and stood up for what I so passionately believe in. No one deserves to be shot at for calling out such disgusting behaviour. I knew entering this what I was letting myself in for publicity wise - but I did not agree to sexual assault threats.

“I knew that it was likely people would try to silence me when I spoke out about this behaviour - I did not agree to receiving messages about how I would be silenced. I knew what attitudes I would have to face - but I did not agree to accept them.”