A Labour candidate has rebutted claims that party canvassers are ‘outing’ her Tory opponent to Orthodox Jewish voters.

Mike Freer, the Tory candidate for Finchley and Golders Green, told Pink News a number of strongly religious voters had asked him about his sexuality following Labour canvassing.

He said: “What happened is we got a phone call in the office this morning from a lady who said she had been canvassed by the Labour party, she wanted to know if it’s true if I was gay.

“I said ‘Yes, it’s not a secret’.

“Later on, some of my Orthodox Jewish councillors were out knocking on doors – and three residents also mentioned they had had Labour round, and it had been brought up again, and they could no longer support me because I was gay.

“If it’s true, it’s appalling. It’s a sign of desperation.”

Mr Freer said he expected his Labour opponent, Sarah Sackman, knows nothing about it.

In a statement published today, Ms Sackman rebutted the claims, and said he should refer it to the police if there was any evidence.

She said: “Homophobia has no place in our society or in an election. I publicly support equal marriage and LGBT rights.

“If Mike Freer has any evidence supporting the statement he made to Pink News he should refer it to the police. That is the proper way to deal with this.”

Finchley and Golders Green, which Mike Freer won in 2010 with a majority of 5,809, is expected to be a close race in tomorrow's General Election, with recent polls showing Labour inching ahead.