The Tory candidate in the Wakefield by-election suggested that voters should trust the Conservatives in the same way people “trust GPs after Harold Shipman”.

       Nadeem Ahmed, who is standing in next week’s vote, was asked about the damage to the party’s reputation after the West Yorkshire constituency’s previous MP, Imran Ahmad-Khan, was imprisoned for child sexual assault.

       Ahmad-Khan was forced to stand down last month after he was convicted of having molested a 15-year-old boy in 2008. He has been jailed for 18 months.

       Mr Ahmed, who is seeking to succeed Ahmad-Khan, was asked in an interview with ITV whether his predecessor’s sexual assault conviction has “tarnished the reputation of the Conservative Party in Wakefield”.

       He suggested that people would still trust the Tories in the same way that people trust doctors after Shipman – known to be one of the most prolific serial killers in modern history – was found to be responsible for more than 250 deaths, including those of his patients.

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       Shipman, who had been a GP, died by suicide in Wakefield prison in January 2004.

       Mr Ahmad told ITV: “The Conservative Party is bigger than one individual. What [Ahmad-Khan] did was wrong. I’m saying that as a parent, as a teacher. Safeguarding is one of the biggest concerns for any teacher in the classroom.

       “He’s in the right place [prison]. He’s had the right punishment, and the people of Wakefield understand that there are bad apples in every ... look at Harold Shipman.

       “[Shipman] committed suicide in Wakefield prison, but do we trust our doctors? You go to your GP, I go to my GP. We still trust our GPs.”

       In a separate interview with the Telegraph, Mr Ahmad used the same reasons to justify his view that voters in Wakefield should trust the Conservative Party.

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       The by-election is set to take place on Thursday 23 June, with another in Tiverton and Honiton to take place on the same day.

       The Tiverton and Honiton seat was vacated by former Tory MP Neil Parish after he admitted to twice watching pornography in the Commons.