The Reform UK parliamentary leader has fired the party's election candidate for Henley and Thame after his “inappropriate ” social media posts.

David Carpin, who was due to stand for the right-wing populist party at the general election, compared transgender and non-binary people to Adolf Hitler and called gay pride a “sin” in online posts.

Richard Tice, the party leader, revealed he had sacked the Reform UK candidate live on air while speaking to GB News.

One of the posts had placed pictures of transgender swimmer Lia Thomas, transgender TikToker Dylan Mulvaney, and non-binary singer Sam Smith alongside the Nazi leader and asked who people would save from a burning room.

Oxford Mail: One post seemed to compare transexual and non-binary people to Adolf Hitler

Asked about the posts on GB News, Mr Tice said: "So he has posted some inappropriate and frankly daft stuff.

“We're a serious political party and I've told our candidates, you don't put daft stuff up there."

Other posts called trans women “mentally ill men” and LGBT pride a “sin” and replaced the stars in the European Union flag with swastikas.

"He's an ex-candidate. I've fired him. He's not a candidate”, Mr Tice said.

"I'm a serious leader who will take decisions immediately when they need to be taken.

"He's gone. He's done. And people need to learn a lesson from that.

"Look, you've got freedom of expression, that's the joy of being in a democracy like ours but I've also got freedom of choice as to who is going to be my candidate and he's not going to be one of them."

Oxford Mail: His caption on this post said gay pride was a "sin"

Mr Tice added that Mr Carpin was vetted before posting the images online and said there are other “great candidates applying”.

He said: "He was vetted before this. And then at some point, I don't know, he's done something daft, written something daft, post-the vetting procedure.

"They've all been told, don't do this stuff. And if you do, you're going to be fired. Its as simple as that.

“We've got lots more candidates. Great candidates applying. And people need to understand this.”

Conservative parliamentary candidate for the Henley and Thame seat, Caroline Newton, previously criticised the posts.

“Freedom, including freedom of speech, is something millions died for last century,” she told the Oxford Mail.

“Invoking Adolf Hitler and Nazi symbols in defence of it is staggeringly insensitive and contemptible.”

Labour's candidate for Banbury, Sean Woodcock, added: "To invoke Hitler in a live and legitimate debate about trans people and their rights, is not only idiotic but similarly unacceptable and offensive.

"Whatever your views on Brexit, to compare the European Union to a regime that is responsible for a world war that led to tens of millions of deaths including the cold-blooded murder of six million Jews in death camps, is sick and utterly unacceptable. 

"It's insulting to the memory of the victims of that barbaric regime. 

"It is also an insult to those service personnel, some of whom are still alive and living in the Henley and Thame constituency, who fought against that regime.

Responding to the criticism, Mr Carpin, who lives in Woodcote and works in IT, said: “The posts provide the opportunity for discussion and criticism, since the UK constitution upholds freedom of expression.

“All are within the law of the land and none are directed at named individuals.”

Mr Carpin has tried to be elected to South Oxfordshire District Council twice - for Reform UK last year and for UKIP in 2019 - but was unsuccessful both times.