The Conservative Party has picked a former BBC presenter, who once said women should keep their “knickers on” to avoid rape, as a parliamentary candidate in the general election.
Nick Conrad was chosen on Wednesday evening to stand for the Tories in the Broadland constituency in Norfolk.
Labour has demanded Conrad be dropped as a candidate.
The 34-year-old stood down as the breakfast host on BBC Radio Norfolk in order to seek the MP nomination.
Keith Simpson, who won the seat in for the Conservatives in 2017 with a majority of over 15,000, is standing down.
In a 2014 radio conversation about footballer Ched Evans, Conrad suggested women were “partially responsible” for sexual assault.
Evans was originally convicted of a rape charge in May 2011. But the conviction was quashed and overturned at a retrial in 2016.
Conrad had said: “I think women need to be more aware of a man’s sexual desire.
“When you’re in that position that you are about to engage in sexual activity there’s a huge amount of energy in the male body.
There’s a huge amount of will and intent and it’s very difficult for many men to say no when they are whipped up into a bit of a storm.”
Conrad added: “It’s the old adage about if you yank a dog’s tail then don’t be surprised when it bites you.
“You can’t keep snakes in the garden and think they’ll only bite your neighbours.”
During the radio discussion, Conrad said if “a woman says no” and a man persisted then that was “absolutely abhorrent”.
But added: “If you tease, if you jump into bed naked with a man, if you give him all the signals and then he acts upon them, then you are partially responsible.
“What I’m trying to say is that women also have to understand that when a man’s given certain signals, he’ll wish to act upon them and if you don’t wish to give out the wrong signals, it’s best probably to keep your knickers on and not get into bed with him.”
Conrad later apologised for his comments and said they were “ill-judged” and said sorry “to anybody who was offended”.
Angela Rayner, the shadow education secretary, said Conrad’s comments “sound like they’re from The Handmaid’s Tale”.
“The Conservatives must drop him as their candidate. It would be an affront to women everywhere if he became an MP,” she said.
Labour MP Jess Phillips said of Conrad’s selection: “It’s best to keep your knickers on to avoid rape according to this dude. I find it’s best avoided by never coming in to contact with misogynistic men who have no understanding of consent.”