An aide to London mayoral hopeful Sadiq Khan has been suspended after he allegedly posted a series of homophobic tweets.
Shueb Salar, a parliamentary assistant to Khan, reportedly posted abusive messages about women and gay people on Twitter in 2012. His Twitter account appears to have been deleted.
In May 2012, he reportedly tweeted: "Currently hating on all you faggots who have finished uni."
In June 2012, he reportedly tweeted "fuck all you hoes" and in April 2012, he tweeted that way to "treat a lady" was to "buy her a nice iron and extend the kitchen for her".
Khan, a former minister, is currently the favourite to win the London mayoral contest against fellow front-runner Zac Goldsmith, who is the Conservative party's candidate.
A spokesperson for Khan's campaign confirmed that Salar had been suspended from the mayoral candidate's parliamentary office pending an investigation. "Clearly these are serious issues," the spokesperson said.
Salar, in his early 20s, has worked in Khan's parliamentary office since November 2014.
Salar's suspension comes just days after a fundraising event for Khan was organised by his LGBTQ+ supporters.
After learning about the tweets, cabinet minister Chris Grayling said Salar's appointment as a parliamentary assistant was worrying.
"These comments have absolutely no place in modern society. They raise serious questions about the judgment of Sadiq Khan who chose to employ this man despite his views being public, on a Twitter account followed by Khan himself," Grayling said.
"The Mayor of London makes a large number of decisions about who to hire and how to spend public funds: his record shows Sadiq Khan can't make those decisions in a way that stands up for Londoners."
The job advert for Salar's role lists that the assistant would respond to casework and help with "basic research" to prepare for speeches.
On his LinkedIn profile, Salar, who attended the same secondary school as Khan, wrote that he helped with his campaign to be selected as Labour's mayoral candidate although BuzzFeed News understands that he has not played a major role in the campaign.
Salar did not respond to a request for comment.
On Sunday morning, Khan took part in an International Women's Day event in London where he told the audience: "I"m a feminist."
Proud to stand in solidarity with women across London & beyond & take part in @careintuk #WalkInHerShoes #IWD2016