A ROW has broken out after it was revealed that one of the candidates in a televised BBC debate was asked a question by her husband.

Susan Williams, the Tory candidate for Bolton West, was taking part in the debate at Westhoughton Town Hall on Tuesday when her husband, Alex Williams, who standing as the Conservative candidate in Stretford and Urmston, asked her about social mobility without telling the audience who he was.

It prompted the Labour Party to complain to the BBC, but Mrs Williams last night defended her husband.

She said: “He was one of my five supporters which all the candidates were allowed to take.

The BBC knew he was there and I provided contact details for all my supporters.

“It was the BBC who invited Alex to ask a question, not me, and the other candidates would have had the same opportunity.

“It was an old-fashioned Town Hall debate which was quite lively and I think they are a very good idea.”

Labour candidate Julie Hilling and the Liberal Democrat hopeful Jackie Pearcey also took part in the debate, which was televised live on the BBC News Channel.

A Labour spokesman described the incident as “disappointing”.

He said: “This election is all about big choices and debates like this need to be engaged into in an open and fair way.

“The debate was an opportunity to give local people the chance to have their say and it is very disappointing that the Conservative Party feels the need to drop a candidate’s spouse into the audience to ask a question while passing themselves off as a member of the public.

“In this case, as this person is also standing in another Greater Manchester seat at the General Election, it is all the more surprising and disappointing.”

Ms Pearcey, on a Twitter post, said: “Amused that the Conservative’s husband felt the need to plant a question.”

When asked about the planted question on a visit to Bolton on Tuesday, Tory Shadow Foreign Secretary William Hague attempted to laugh off the incident.

He said: “I am sure it was a brilliant question.”