A Labour MP warned a reporter to be “very careful” when asked questions before telling a pregnant journalist: “Hope you have a great birth, because child labour is hard”.

Tulip Siddiq, who sits on the Women and Equalities Committee in Parliament, made the “apparently threatening remark” when she was asked questions about human rights in Bangladesh.

She was asked by a reporter whether she would do anything to campaign for the release of a British-trained barrister who vanished in Bangladesh last year. Ms Siddiq has family connections with the government in Bangladesh, where her aunt is prime minister.

The television producer said she felt the politician had used her pregnancy against her.

The editor of Channel 4 News has complained to both the MP and the Labour party over the remarks. In response, Ms Siddiq told Channel 4 News she had reported Channel 4 News to the police.

Ms Siddiq was being interviewed at an event in Hampstead where she was campaigning on behalf of British mother Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe, who has been jailed in Iran.

She was asked about lawyer Ahmad bin Quasem, who human rights organisations say was abducted by state security forces in Bangladesh. He has not been heard from since.

Asked about his case, Ms Siddiq said: “I’m a Labour MP for Hampstead and Kilburn, I’m a British Member of Parliament. Be very careful.”

She added: “I’m not Bangladeshi and the person you are talking about, I have no idea about their case. That is the end of my statement.”