Conservative leader David Cameron confirmed that his party's General Election candidate in Watford has resigned after police launched an inquiry into harassment allegations.
It is understood that Ian Oakley stood down after being arrested by police looking into complaints of a campaign of poison pen letters, nuisance calls and vandalism directed at local Liberal Democrats.
A Hertfordshire Police spokeswoman confirmed that a 31-year-old man from West Drayton had been arrested on Friday in connection with a series of criminal damage and harassment offences. He was released on police bail without charge pending further inquiries.
The spokeswoman said the alleged victims were local members of a national political party.
Mr Cameron told BBC1's Andrew Marr Show: "As I understand it, the candidate has resigned.
"We are going through some legal proceedings and so I don't think it would be right to comment further, but basically he has resigned as the candidate."
Labour's Claire Ward held Watford by a slim majority of 1,148 over the Liberal Democrats in the 2005 General Election. The constituency is one of the few areas of the country where there is a three-way split in votes between the major parties, making it a target seat for both Tories and Lib Dems.
