Welsh Labour leadership candidate condemns Nicaraguan regime abuse following ITV comments

One of the candidates to become the next First Minister has been forced to deny supporting the much-criticised Nicaraguan government after comments she made about her youthful political experiences on ITV Wales were taken up by the Central American regime.

Eluned Morgan issued a statement saying 'I condemn the human rights abuses happening in Nicaragua today' after campaigners urged her to distance herself from the government of President Daniel Ortega.

The unexpected row began when the Mid and West Wales AM answered my opening question in a Sharp End special featuring all three of the leadership candidates. I'd asked them to tell me something that people didn't know about them.

She revealed that in the 1980s she earned a penny an hour picking coffee in Nicaragua, working alongside socialist revolutionaries known as Sandinistas.

She said she 'went there to work with them to develop socialism in Central America' and that 'it definitely internationalised my view of the world.'

You can watch her answer below or watch the full programme here.

The Sandinista leader Daniel Ortega, who has been President of Nicaragua since 2007 has been heavily criticised by Amnesty International and other human rights organisations for violent crackdowns against protestors and other abuses.

Human rights campaigners called for Eluned Morgan to clarify that she no longer supports Ortega's government after her comments and video of the Sharp End programme was picked up by Nicaraguan state media.

They used facebook, twitter and emailed the candidate:

Here's an extract from the campaigners' email.

Eluned Morgan tweeted the following statement accompanied by photos of her time in Nicaragua.