London mayor hopeful Shaun Bailey has brushed off claims Tory chiefs have cut funding from his campaign.
Mr Bailey vowed to keep fighting Labour incumbent Sadiq Khan ahead of the key elections in May despite questions over whether the party is still giving him full support.
There are reports that Conservative Central Office has decided to withdraw funding from Mr Bailey's campaign because of the London Assembly member's struggles to raise money on his own.
Sniping has emerged including an extraordinary jibe that the party sees Mr Bailey as the 'worst candidate in history', but only has the option of withdrawing funding because it is 'too late to get rid of him'.