LABOUR has sparked outrage after a man who proposed shipping refugee smuggler gangs on barges to the north of Scotland was selected as a parliamentary candidate.

SNP Westminster leader Stephen Flynn hit out after Josh Simons was chosen as the Labour candidate for Makerfield in north-west England.

Mr Simons, director of the Labour Together group, previously suggested smuggler gangs should be put on a barge, which could then be shipped to the north of Scotland.

Mr Flynn said that at the time the comments were made, Scottish Labour leader Anas Sarwar had said Mr Simons “doesn’t represent the Labour Party” — with the SNP politician adding: “He does now.”

SNP candidate for Glasgow North, Alison Thewliss, challenged Mr Sarwar to “come clean and admit whether he backs the selection of a Labour Party candidate who said smuggler gangs should be put on a barge and shipped to Scotland.”

She branded Mr Simons’s comments “a disgrace” and said: “Sarwar previously claimed Josh Simons’s views don’t represent the Labour Party, despite Mr Simons being a key ally of Keir Starmer, but now it’s indisputable that they do.”

A Scottish Labour spokesperson said “This desperate SNP attack is proof the party is well and truly out of positive ideas on how to deliver the change Scotland needs.

“Instead of worrying about a months-old interview by a candidate in Makerfield, the SNP should focus on fixing the chaos it has made in Scotland — from sky-high NHS waiting lists to a flatlining economy.”

The spokesperson insisted Labour “has selected a fantastic group of candidates in place for the general election,” adding the SNP “is fielding candidates that will continue their record of decline and put the party interest before Scotland’s interest.”

Mr Simons appeared on LBC in December to discuss the Tories’ Rwanda plan and use of barges to house refugees.

He said: “Why don’t you send the smuggler gangs and put them on the barge that has been set aside for the asylum-seekers and then ship the barge up to the north of Scotland for all I care, you know, who cares?”