Election row erupts in key seat over web account

Calder Valley candidate Craig Whittaker was accused of "jumping the gun" after it emerged there is an account in his name called "caldervalleymp" on the Twitter website, potentially embarrassing the Tories who insist they will take nothing for granted ahead of polling day.

But last night Mr Whittaker denied knowing anything about the account – which has not been used to send any messages – and pointed the finger at opponents in a seat where Labour is defending a majority of just over 1,000.

The row came as Twitter – where users communicate using short messages online – claimed its first election scalp when a Labour candidate in Scotland was sacked after posting offensive messages.

Mr Whittaker said: "It's got absolutely nothing to do with me at all. I've never been anywhere near Twitter. It's not something I'm comfortable with. I wouldn't even know where to go.

"If there's something set up in my name it's one of the opposition."

Calder Valley, which the Tories lost to Labour in 1997, is a must-win seat for the party if they are to win power, with Shadow Foreign Secretary William Hague, seen as a key asset in the Tories' bid to win northern votes, already campaigning there this week.

The Labour party was torn apart by fights over who should succeed retiring MP Christine McCafferty as its candidate, and now Mr Whittaker claims he is the victim of a dirty tricks campaign.

"This has been going on for months," said Mr Whittaker, who claims he has had to place controls on his page on social networking site Facebook after it was sabotaged and has also faced slurs made against himself and his children on websites.

"It's getting incredibly nasty and personal. I'm very clear I will fight the election on policies and nothing else."