Members of a national campaign group have called for Kate Linnegar, the Labour Party’s parliamentary candidate for North Swindon, to resign.

Euan Phillips, the spokesman for the group Labour Against Anti-Semitism says Ms Linnegar has been tainted by accusations concerning anti-Semitic posts on social media.

After she failed to take back the previously safe seat of Penhill & Upper Stratton at least week’s local elections – with the Conservatives' win there allowing the party to increase its majority in the council chamber – Mr Phillips said: “Kate Linnegar’s failure to hold the Labour council seat of Penhill and Upper Stratton is a rejection by the public of a candidate who has reportedly promoted anti-Semitic views over a number of years.

He added: “The Labour Party should never have allowed Ms Linnegar to stand in this ward, given her alleged track record.

"It is now clear that she needs to stand down as prospective parliamentary candidate for Swindon North so that someone who better reflects Labour’s proud anti-racist tradition can take her place.”

Ms Linnegar said she was unable to speak about the matter at the moment.

MORE NEWS: Tick Tock Playgroup boss's fury at poor Ofsted write-up

MORE NEWS: Car owners express concerns over 'reckless' drivers damaging parked cars​

She was investigated and then cleared by the Labour Party’s national executive committee last summer over allegations she had both made anti-Semitic tweets on the Swindon People’s Assembly account, and then ‘liked’ Facebook posts on her own account.

Ms Linnegar denied making the posts and said she had nothing to do the the People’s Assembly Twitter account, saying: “The Twitter account was set up when we started Swindon People’s Assembly some years ago.

"The person running it was so inactive at tweeting that we forgot it even existed.

“When we were alerted to what had been tweeted, we asked the person to delete it as the views were not those of Swindon People’s Assembly, me or the Labour Party. This person is not a Labour Party member.”

More recently, Ms Linnegar apologised for posts she 'liked' on her own Facebook account and said: “I have since developed a deeper understanding about anti-Semitism and I would not have engaged with such posts today and I am deeply sorry for having done so.”

She stood as a Labour candidate in the Penhill & Upper Stratton ward won by Teresa Page on a Labour ticket in 2015. Former Coun Page left the party last year over what she said was an “unpatriotic and anti-Semitic” party leadership and stood as an independent candidate, but said she was a ‘traditional, moderate and patriotic Labour’ supporter.

It appears the Labour vote was spit between the two candidates. Ms Linnegar took 785 votes and Mrs Page 468, with Conservative David Ibitoye receiving 1,086.