The blind and transgender parliamentary candidate for Sutton and Cheam has spoken out after the press watchdog ruled she had been "belittled’ by a column in The Sun.

Labour's Emily Brothers, said she appreciated the support she has received but felt the ruling did not go far enough.

In its findings the Independent Press Standards Organisation said the piece, where regular columnist Rod Liddle said Emily Brothers "could only have become aware of her gender by seeing its physical manifestations" was "plainly wrong".

The investigation found the comments "belittled Ms Brothers, her gender identity and her disability, mocking her for no reason other than these perceived "differences", adding "the comment did not contain any specific pejorative term, but its meaning was pejorative".

When the column was first published Ms Brothers responded by asking "when Rod Liddle turns the light off at night, how does he know he's a man?"

The press regulator made the Sun apologise for the comments, which had to be printed on the same page as Mr Liddle's article.

Ms Brothers, who is currently recovering from triple heart bypass surgery, said: "Newspapers should now be clear that they don’t have free-reign to show contempt for people who are different in some way, by using pejorative or prejudicial language.

"I’m disappointed that The Sun did not constructively engage in seeking a resolution to what transpired.

"Instead, the Sun tried to undermine me in a personal way and attacked the work of Trans Media Watch. In many ways that failure is more worrying than the original insult.

"That’s why I think IPSO’s decision falls short.

"They have only required the publication of their adjudication as a remedy, not a full and proper apology from The Sun."

She added: "Politicians need to take the knocks, so I’ve been able to dismiss Rod Liddle’s comment piece as ridiculous. My central concern is how other transgender people and their families feel about these comments, particularly those who are going through the transitioning process and are fearful of other people’s reactions and fearful of being ridiculed."

The case was taken up on Ms Brothers' behalf by the campaign group Trans Media Watch, a charity that describes itself as being "dedicated to improving media coverage of trans and intersex issues".