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London mayoral candidate Rory Stewart has apologised after being accused of racism for describing three men he met during his Tory leadership campaign as "minor gangsters".

The Independent MP, who will be standing against Sadiq Khan in the 2020 contest for mayor, spoke on Wednesday about a video posted on his social media account in June.

In the video, posted in June alongside the hashtag "Rory Walks", Mr Stewart met three men in Brick Lane, who he on Wednesday described as "minor gangsters".

He has been criticised for the remark, with Labour's Diane Abbott calling it "shameful".

Mr Stewart later apologised on Twitter, saying: "I am very sorry towards the guys and towards everyone else. I was wrong."

Mr Stewart was filmed meeting the three men in Brick Lane, who they said were from Northern Ireland originally, during his Tory leadership bid.

During the exchange, one said "I don't f*** with politics" after Mr Stewart said he was a politician and shook their hands. The men left making gestures towards the camera.

In comments reported by The Guardian, Mr Stewart said at the Emmanuel Centre in London: "One thing about social media is that it allows people to see politicians listening.

"I can go to Brick Lane and three sort of minor gangsters can come up to me and spend a minute telling me I'm an idiot. And I can film it on my phone and put it up. And people love watching people being rude to politicians."

A spokesman for the mayoral candidate told The Guardian that the comments were "obviously light-hearted, self-deprecatory remarks - where Rory was reflecting on an amiable exchange he had when walking along Brick Lane".

"Anyone who knows anything about Rory would know it's absurd to suggest he was implying anything malign, and if any offence was caused he'd be the first to apologise."

Mr Stewart apologised, adding: "They were only doing it lightheartedly to tease a politician. I was wrong to describe the incident in the way that I did."

Mr Stewart was accused of racism by shadow home secretary Diane Abbott, who said: "This is racism. And it is completely shameful. Especially when it comes from someone running to be the mayor of our diverse and multicultural capital city."

Mayoral candidate for the Liberal Democrats Siobhan Benita said the remarks suggested Mr Stewart is "out of touch with Londoners".

She added: "His walks around the capital are cover up for his lack of knowledge about the city he claims he wants to run."

Mr Stewart, former international development secretary, announced plans to stand down as an MP so he could run as an independent candidate in the contest next year.