Chechen leader Ramzan Kadyrov has denied the existence of gay men in his country - before saying: "If there are any, take them to Canada.”

During an interview on TV network HBO, Mr Kadyrov, head of the Chechen Republic, was vehement in his denials when asked about the LGBT community in the Eastern European country.

David Scott, from HBO’s Real Sports, asked the 40-year-old head of state: “I wanted to ask you about the alleged roundup, abduction, and torture of gay men in the Republic. What, Mr President, do you want to say about that?”

“This is nonsense,” he said in reply.

“We don’t have those kinds of people here. We don’t have any gays.”

In case some homosexuals should have slipped through the net, Mr Kadyrov advised transporting them to Canada. “Take them far from us so we don’t have them at home. To purify our blood, if there are any here, take them.”

Mr Scott continued to press the Chechen leader, saying: “But do you not get concerned when you read these accounts of young men who say they’ve been tortured for days?"

Mr Kadyrov responded angrily: “They are devils. They are for sale. They are not people. God damn them for what they are accusing us of. They will have to answer to the Almighty for this.” Read more via the Independent