Mr Dogus, a restaurateur and personal friend of Jeremy Corbyn, has been picked despite speculation Mr Watson had agreed to step down as longs as member of his team took his place. Of 34 seats where a Labour MP is retiring, has been suspended or has defected, 21 candidates are Corbyn allies, according to analysis by the Sunday Times.
Mr Dogus backed Yvette Cooper in the 2015 leadership race but Mr Corbyn, who attends the British Kebab Awards he founded, is said to have taken a “real liking” to him.
Mr Watson, an MP for 18 years, announced on the first day of the election campaign he would be standing down citing “personal, not political” reasons for his decision.
Mr Dogus, who owns three restaurants in London, said he was “proud” to have been selected as the candidate and “would waste no time at all taking the fight to the Tories”.
He said: “I’d like to pay a huge tribute to Tom Watson, who served the people of the West Bromwich East constituency so diligently.
“I am proud to call him a friend, and recognise I have big shoes to fill as the Labour candidate.”
He said he was looking forward to “meeting local people and listening to their concerns”.
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He said: “I relish the chance to fight for local people, to champion communities and businesses, and to deliver the decent services people round here deserve.”
Earlier this year Mr Dogus received death threats on social media for putting an anti-Brexit message on receipts at his restaurants.
He refused to remove the message that read “Brexit is bad! Immigrants make Britain great! They also cooked and served your food today.”
Last week Sally Gimson, a “Corbyn-sceptic” selected as Labour candidate for Bassetlaw in Nottinghamshire by an overwhelming margin, was removed after party bosses said they had received a dossier of allegations about her conduct.
The pro-Remain councillor from Highgate, north London, scrapped a challenge to her exclusion on Friday, saying it was not worth risking her health to do so.
One Labour insider told the Sunday Times: “Corbyn’s won control of the party. When the left isn’t at war with the right, it’s at war with itself.”
