A Conservative candidate standing for election to Three Rivers District Council has withdrawn from the race after offensive comments he wrote about Liberal Democrat leader Nick Clegg surfaced on the Internet.

Chris Hawes withdrew his nomination as a candidate in Leavesden ward, which is part of the Watford parliamentary constituency, on Tuesday after comments he published online in September 2008 were reprinted on a Liberal Democrat website on Monday.

In the posting, on his blog titled The Blue Idea, he described Mr Clegg as a “party pooper” after the Liberal Democrat leader said shops should not sell alcohol at a loss.

He added: “I have one thing to say to that: f*** off you authoritarian c***.”

In previous accounts on the blog, Mr Hawes described Ian Oakley, the disgraced former Conservative parliamentary candidate for Watford, as “fantastic and hilarious”.

Mr Hawes said today he has apologised for the remark about Mr Clegg.

He said: “I was shocked and embarrassed that something from 2008 had now been brought up. Obviously it was a silly mistake to make. Now I've done what needs to be done to sort it out. I regret what I wrote.”

Mr Hawes' case mirrors that of Stuart MacLennan, the Labour parliamentary candidate for the Scottish constituency of Moray, who was sacked last Friday after making offensive remarks on his Twitter account.