Telford Liberal Democrat candidate apologises for comments over 'pollution changing people's sexuality'
A Liberal Democrat candidate has apologised for comments she made about pollution from the plastics industry causing changes to people's sexuality.
Susan King, who is standing for the Liberal Democrats in Telford, told a Shropshire Star webchat that chemicals used in children's toys, are causing residues of feminising hormones to come into water supplies, affecting the gender of fish stock.
But today, she said she was "deeply sorry" for the comments and the Liberal Democrat party said it would be looking at her eligibility to stand in future elections.
Ms King was responding to questions over Liberal Democrat leader Tim Farron's position on homosexuality, which had caused controversry in the early weeks of the election before he denied regarding it as "sinful".
She said she believed pollution from plastics was having an impact on the British population, by "affecting people's sexuality".
A Liberal Democrat spokesman said: “These remarks were wrong and do not reflect party policy or accepted science.
“An internal review will begin after polling day looking into Susan King’s eligibility to stand for the party in future."
In a statement released by the party on behalf of Mrs King, she said: "I am deeply sorry for the offence caused by my comments. The Liberal Democrats have a strong record of upholding LGBT rights which I fully support."
During a web chat with the Shropshire Star on Thursday, Mrs King said: "I do feel environmental influences are affecting reproduction. All the pollution is having an effect on our DNA and our population is changing and evolving."
She added: "There are a lot of feminising hormones getting into the environment and that has to be taken into consideration. It's affecting people's sexuality basically. People are at liberty to interpret how they want to live themselves.
"Phthalates, the chemicals used in making plastics, children's toys are affected. Everything that's getting into the environment is disrupting the way industrialisation has changed our living conditions, residues of all sorts of feminising hormones in the water supply from pharmaceutical etc which is affecting gender of fish stock etc."
"I've done a lot of research connected with water quality, and that is where I gained my political and media experience."
