A Labour candidate in the forthcoming council elections has been suspended from the party after it was found he was a convicted benefit cheat.

Yogalingam Dayanamby had been selected as a Labour Party candidate to stand in the local elections later this month in Canons ward.

However in 2007 he was found guilty of fraudulently claiming £811.93 council tax benefit from Harrow Borough Council.

He was sentenced to a three-month curfew restricting the hours he is allowed out of his home for failing to declare he owned a second property.

Since the revelations, Mr Dayanamby has been suspended from the Labour Party and will not represent Labour in this month's elections.

A London Region Labour party spokesman said: "Following a meeting between David Perry, leader of the Labour Group, senior party officers and Yoganlingam Dyanamby, the Labour Party has taken immediate action to suspend Yoganlingam Dyanamby from the party.

“The Labour Party expects all its candidates to meet the highest standards and will continue to take action where appropriate when information to the contrary comes to light.”

Leader of the Conservative Group Susan Hall said: "Residents have a right to feel disappointed in Labour for putting forward such a candidate to represent them.

“Given that since 2010 Labour have seen two of their sitting councillors receive cautions and criminal convictions for the possession of indecent images of children and fraud, one would have thought they'd be exceptionally careful when selecting their candidates this time around.

“Evidently this has not been the case, and it suggests yet another serious lack of judgment on Labour's part."