Watch more of our videos on Shots!
and live on Freeview channel 276

Mr Mann, who held the seat for 18 years from 2001, was reacting to the deselection by the Labour Party of Sam Tarry, MP for Ilford South in Essex and boyfriend of deputy leader Angela Rayner.

In an interview with the GB News TV channel, he agreed with claims by Mr Tarry that he had been “stitched up” by Labour to oust someone who had been a supporter of former leader Jeremy Corbyn.

But Mr Mann, now an independent member of the House Of Lords, reminded viewers that, in his opinion, exactly the same thing happened, in reverse, in Bassetlaw before the 2019 general election.

John Mann, now 62, who was Labour MP for Bassetlaw between 2001 and 2019.

Moderate candidate Sally Gimson had been lined up by the local party to replace Mr Mann for Labour after he stepped down.

But she was deselected by Labour’s Corbyn-supporting national executive committee over what it called “very serious allegations”.

She was replaced by Hucknall-based councillor Keir Morrison, who suffered a hammering at the polls.

Brendan Clarke-Smith beat Mr Morrison to become Bassetlaw’s first Tory MP since 1929 with the biggest swing from Labour (18.4 per cent) in the country. The fall in Labour’s vote of 24.9 per cent was the greatest of the election.

Sam Tarry, who claims he has been ousted as Labour's candidate for the Ilford South seat in Essex as part of a "stitch-up" to get rid of left-wingers.

Labour politicians stand by Bassetlaw residents in campaign against fracking

Baron Mann told GB News: “Yes, it was stitched up in Ilford. But it wasn’t just there. It was also done in the seat I used to represent.

"In Bassetlaw, they did exactly the same thing. Trumped-up, totally fictitious charges against the person who had actually been selected there. They got rid of her and put in their own stooge.

"They were bogus charges. Absolutely extraordinary and outrageous.”

Ms Gimson threatened legal action against Labour, claiming she had been “condemned by a kangaroo court”, but later backed down.

Her deselection mirrored that in Ilford in 2019 when local council leader Jas Athwal was suspended over “extremely serious allegations”, allowing left-winger Mr Tarry to move in.

Mr Athwal denied the allegations, claiming they were malicious and politically motivated. Now he has beaten Mr Tarry in a vote by party members to choose the seat’s candidate for the next general election.

“You might say he has got his revenge,” said Baron Mann.

Ex-MP Mann reignites Bassetlaw deselection controversy that led to Tory triumph