It has been claimed that the prime minister was due to be in Great Yarmouth yesterday to give an election speech - but pulled out.

The allegation against Theresa May was made by the Daily Mirror, which said she was due to give a stump speech but 'axed the trip at the last minute'.

The newspaper sent the Mirror Chicken to the town to ask the Conservative Party leader to take part in a live television showdown with her rivals.

A Conservative Party spokeswoman was asked by this newspaper to comment on the following question: 'Could you confirm if she( Theresa May) was due to come and cancelled or is it not true at all?'

The spokeswoman replied in a statement: 'The Prime Minister did not go to Norfolk today.'

Great Yarmouth MP Brandon Lewis, who was at a debate in Westminster Hall yesterday afternoon, said the Daily Mirror was playing 'silly politics' and he and Mrs May were focused on improving the lives of the town's residents.

In 2015 Mrs May visited Great Yarmouth.

She was the guest of honour at AID industrial in Great Yarmouth, a company that specialises in working at height training, to hear about its apprenticeship schemes and talk to those currently on one of the courses.