A Tory candidate has been exposed as the former deputy leader of far-right party Britain First thanks to a local democracy reporter.

James Aldridge, who works for the Bracknell News and Reading Chronicle under the BBC-funded scheme, has revealed Andrew McBride’s links to Britain First and also discovered he was a regional organiser for the British National Party, for which he stood for election in 2007.

The Conservative Party has now suspended Mr McBride from the party but it is “too late” for him to be withdrawn from the election process, meaning he will still be its representative for the Priestwood ward of Bracknell Town Council in the 4 May poll.

James, pictured, landed the scoop after being contacted on Twitter about Mr McBride.

He told HTFP: “The issue was raised to my attention over the weekend when I got quote tweeted by members of Bracknell Labour.

“Mr McBride’s name was vaguely familiar to me because I remembered reading about him in 2020.

“I was able to find his Twitter account by looking at tweets from Paul Golding, the current leader of Britain First.

“I feel it is important to keep an eye on what is happening on the political fringes.”

Since exposing Mr McBride, James has run a follow-up revealing a number of offensive Twitter posts he has made.

Katie French, regional editor for Newsquest Berkshire and Buckinghamshire, added: “James’s work exposing Andrew McBride’s political background and highly offensive tweets is a clear example of why local political journalists matter.

“As Bracknell’s sole local democracy reporter, James was the first person the community turned to with this story and without Bracknell News shining a light on local elections, the public would be none the wiser about the candidates appearing on the ballot sheet next month.”

Gerry Barber, chairman of the Bracknell Conservative Association, told the News: “Having followed its internal process, the Association has today suspended Mr McBride’s membership pending a full investigation.

“We are now aware that it is too late to formally withdraw a candidate, however we can confirm that if elected Mr McBride would be denied the Conservative whip.

“To ensure that lessons are learnt for the future we have voluntarily asked the Regional Team to review the selections process relating to candidates standing for election in Bracknell.”