A Dartford Labour candidate said she had “no intentions of hurting anyone” after an online spat with Countdown star Rachel Riley over a new petition calling for her ‘silence’.

Laura Edie, a Labour candidate for Newtown in next week’s Dartford Council elections, has since deleted tweets in which she shared the petition to Ofcom which claims that the TV personality is using her “celebrity profile to smear The Labour Party & Jeremy Corbyn”.

News Shopper:

Ms Riley has been vocal about her concerns regarding the Labour leader’s alleged anti-semitic views and actions in the past and recently shared an online petition which calls for Corbyn to step down from his role as he is “unfit” to hold any public office.

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At the time of writing, this petition has garnered more than 53,000 signatures.

In her tweets, Ms Riley called out the Newtown candidate for sharing the petition, describing her action as “shameful”.

Speaking to News Shopper, Mrs Edie said that she deleted the tweets as she only shared the petition as someone else had asked for the URL.

“It was a silly mistake from me and it wasn’t my intention to hurt anyone.

“She has her opinions and I respect her.

“Someone asked for it (the petition) but I didn’t look into it particularly,” she said.

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When asked if she supported the petition to Ofcom, Ms Edie said she did not support it and denied sharing its sentiments.

In a later tweet, Ms Edie explained that she had deleted the tweets to Ms Riley and is only focused on her campaign and “making a difference” in her community.