Neil Hamilton lined up as Ukip MEP

Neil and Christine Hamilton are being lined up to head Ukip’s list of candidates for the June 2014 European elections (Getty)

The controversial former Tory MP Neil Hamilton is being lined up to head Ukip’s list of candidates for the June 2014 European elections, party sources have claimed

Mr Hamilton, who reinvented himself as a television personality after he lost his seat following the “cash-for-questions” affair, was elected onto the party’s national executive committee two years ago. Party members hope his wife can be convinced to run alongside him.

Showing that the debacle of Robert Kilroy-Silk’s nine-month membership has not put Nigel Farage’s party off celebrity candidates, the pair could be joined on the list by DJs Jon Gaunt and Mike Read. But The Independent has seen internal emails from grassroots members complaining about being “totally ignored” over selection choices.