Roy Moore's wife claims his alleged victims are being paid to come forward

The wife of the controversial Republican candidate accused of sexual abuse, has claimed the women making detailed accusations of him were paid by his critics to come forward.

Kayla Moore, a staunch conservative in her own right who in 2015 posted a video that claimed to “prove” Barack Obama was Muslim, has emerged at the forefront of the defence of her husband, former judge Roy Moore, who is the Republican candidate for a senate seat in Alabama.

Mr Moore, 70, is under mounting pressure to stand aside after five women accused him of sexual abuse and inappropriate behaviour, one of them claiming he abused her when she was aged 14 and he was in his 30s. Mr Moore has denied all the claims.

Republican Speaker Paul Ryan became the latest senior figure in the party to call on him to quit the race, saying the allegations against him “were credible”.

But Ms Moore, who has been married to the former judge for 32 years, has made clear she is standing by her husband and has rejected the accusations. She said lawyer Gloria Allred, who hosted a press conference with a fifth woman to make accusations of her husband, was leading a “witch hunt”.

“After the accusations came out against Judge Moore his polling numbers did not change, so do you think they will let up?? We knew something was coming, just did not know what next,” Ms Moore wrote on Facebook.

“This is the same Gloria Allred that did the very exact same thing to Trump during his campaign. Going on two months now they’ve been on a witch hunt here in Etowah County and our state advertising people to step forward with accusations and we are gathering evidence of money being paid to people who would come forward. Which is part of why we are filing suit!”

She added: “Washington establishment and Democrat Party will stop at nothing to stop our campaign. Prayers appreciated.”

Ms Moore serves as President of the Foundation for Moral Law, which her husband founded in 2002. The organisation says it “exists to restore the knowledge of God in law and government and to acknowledge and defend the truth that man is endowed with rights, not by our fellow man, but by God”.

Neither she or Mr Moore's campaign responded to inquiries on Tuesday.

Ms Moore’s comments followed the publication of an investigation by the Washington Post that accusing her husband of initiating sexual conduct with Leigh Corfman as a 14-year-old in 1979. The Post story also included three other women who say Mr Moore had inappropriate contact with them when they were teenagers.

In addition to her own comments, Ms Moore posted a link to a story by right wing news site TheGateWayPundit.Com which claimed the allegations made by a fifth woman, Beverly Nelson in New York on Monday, were false.

Ms Nelson said Mr Moore had assaulted her when she was 16 after an event at which he signed her yearbook with the words: “To a sweeter more beautiful girl I could not say ‘Merry Christmas’.” The website claimed the signature was false.

Another conservative news site claimed the restaurant at which Ms Nelson claimed Mr Moore had signed the book, did not open until several years later.

On Monday night, Mr Moore spoke to supporters to again reject the allegations.

“I want to address what’s been brought out on television today by Gloria Allred and a client she has about things I allegedly did,” he said.

“I want to make it perfectly clear, the people of Alabama know me, they know my character, they know what I’ve stood for in the political world for over 40-years. I can tell you without hesitation, this is absolutely false. I never did what she said I did. I don’t even know the woman.”