A senior Labour MP has apologised for publishing a joke about a cabinet minister dying.

The gag at the expense of Eric Pickles was made by former opposition leader Lord Kinnock in a private letter to shadow justice secretary Sadiq Khan.

Offering sponsorship for Mr Khan's London Marathon run, the peer suggested he should persuade the portly Communities Secretary to join him on the 26.3-mile course "so we have a helpful by-election".

Mr Khan posted what he called the "witty" letter on Twitter as part of his effort to publicise his fundraising efforts for the Dispossessed Fund charity which tackles poverty and deprivation across London.

But it was condemned by Mr Pickles' party colleagues, Tory MP Priti Patel accusing Mr Khan of "seriously flawed" judgment.

"To resort to such offensive, personal attacks is a reflection on how desperate the Labour Party are," she told Mail Online.

"Endorsing personal remarks about a cardiac arrest shows they are not fit to govern. These desperate, offensive, personal attacks show them up for they are; the same old nasty Labour Party."

Mr Khan later deleted the offending message from his Twitter timeline and posted a message: "Profuse apologies to @EricPickles - I have spoken to him to apologise & am sorry. Inappropriate tweet."