A Tory candidate hoping to win the seat represented by murdered MP Jo Cox has apologised after she made an unfortunate joke at a hustings about no one being shot.

Dr Ann Myatt, who is standing in Batley and Spen, praised the 'first rate' event for voters in the West Yorkshire constituency.

She said: 'We have here people of all faiths, we have here people from different parts of the community, and we have not yet shot anybody so that's wonderful.'

In a video of the comments, obtained by MailOnline, Labour candidate Tracy Brabin can be seen looking shocked at the inappropriate remark. Dr Myatt then apologises.

Tory candidate Ann Myatt (left) is hoping to win the seat represented by murdered MP Jo Cox but left her Labour rival Tracy Brabin (right) visbily horrified at a hustings when she joked nobody had been shot

Myatt, who is standing in Batley and Spen, praised the 'first rate' event for voters in the West Yorkshire constituency

Andrew Gwynne, Labour's National Election Coordinator, responding to reports of remarks made by Ann Myatt, Conservative candidate for Batley and Spen, said: 'These remarks are appalling.

'That they come from the Conservative candidate beggars belief. She should immediately apologise and frankly so should Theresa May's campaign.'

Dr Myatt said: 'I wholeheartedly apologise for my ill-judged remarks at the hustings and for any offence they caused.

'I said sorry at the time and would like to apologise again for my comments, which were out of character and came at the end of a tiring day.'

Jo Cox was brutally murdered as she attended a constituency surgery last June, a week before the EU referendum vote

Mrs Cox was shot several times with a sawn-off rifle and stabbed with a dagger as she attended a constituency surgery last June, a week before the EU referendum vote.

Her killer, Thomas Mair, was jailed for life in November after a jury found him guilty of murdering the 41-year-old mother-of-two. In a raid of his home, police found Nazi-related material.

Mrs Brabin was elected as the MP last October after the other major parties opted not to stand in a by-election. The Labour candiate was born in Batley and worked with Mrs Cox on her campaign to save the town's library.

She played Tricia Armstrong in Coronation Street in the 1990s before appearing as Roxy Drake in EastEnders and Carole in Emmerdale, and has also written for shows including Family Affairs, Tracy Beaker and Hollyoaks.

Mrs Brabin described her win as a victory for 'hope and unity', but also a 'bitter sweet'. Smaller parties including the National Front and BNP had run against her.

The Tories had hoped they could win the seat in next month's election. In the 2015 election, they were 6,000 votes behind Labour and Ukip came third.

Dr Myatt, a consultant dermatologist in the NHS, unsuccessfully stood in Hemsworth in the 2010 General Election, and Westmorland and Lonsdale in 2015.

The Tories had hoped they could win Batley and Spen at next week's election but could now face a backlash over the candidate's remarks

Politicians held temporary election 'truce' last Sunday, putting their campaigns on hold for an hour to remember Mrs Cox. Theresa May, Jeremy Corbyn and other party leaders stopped campaigning in her honour.

Her widower Brendan Cox said it 'sent a powerful message' ahead of the first anniversary of her death next month.

A cross-party fundraising event was held in her former constituency.

Mr Cox said the co-ordinated suspension of campaigning would send a message that 'whatever our political disagreements, we really do hold more in common and show a united front against hatred and extremism in all its forms'.

Mrs Cox used her 2015 maiden speech in the House of Commons to say: 'We are far more united and have far more in common than that which divides us.'

The Tory party did not respond to a request for comment.