Watford MP Claire Ward tonight called Gordon Brown “out of order” for labelling a widowed pensioner who questioned him about immigration as “a bigoted woman”.

The Prime Minister found himself at the centre of a media storm today after he was caught by a microphone he had forgotten he was wearing insulting Rochdale voter Gillian Duffy earlier today.

The candidates vying to represent Watford in the next Parliament gathered tonight for a hustings event at Queens' School, in Aldenham Road, Bushey.

And the first question from the audience asked them for their reaction to Mr Brown's comment.

Ms Ward, who first became Watford's Labour MP in 1997, said: “I don't think her views were bigoted. She was expressing concerns that lots of people express.

“The Prime Minister was out of order to say it and he rightly apologised and I hope we will be able to get onto the issues that matter to people [in the final few days of the election campaign].”

The five other candidates looking to oust Ms Ward from her seat in the House of Commons agreed with her sentiment.

Ian Brandon (Green Party) said: “No-one should be called a bigot in the first place. It's a disgusting word.”

Richard Harrington, the Conservative representative, said: “I cannot conceive this person meant to be a bigot. If you discuss it [immigration] properly and intelligently, there's no need to behave like a bigot.”

Liberal Democrat Sal Brinton said immigration was an issue that “needs to be debated”.

And Andrew Shanks, the UKIP agent representing absent candidate Graham Eardley, said Mr Brown's comments were an attempt to “quash free speech”.

Andrew Emerson (BNP) added: “The most outrageous thing about this incident is a Prime Minister describes one of the electorate as a bigot merely for asking a question about immigration. He was right to apologise.”

For full coverage of tonight's hustings, where topics such as the deficit, climate change, the possibility of a hung parliament and immigration were discussed, check this website tomorrow.