Letter: European elections

Sir: I write to protest about your article on Tory Euro-candidates ("Anti-euro Tory MEPs plot rebellion", 1 June).

You accuse me of seeking to form "a breakaway faction", of fomenting schism, of having signed a secret pledge, and having committed myself not to affiliate to the European People's Party in the European parliament. Every one of these statements is a lie. There is no split. There is no plan. There is no secret pledge. There is no schism. I have never committed myself not to affiliate to the EPP. You appear to have created a piece of mendacious black propaganda with no other objective than to damage the Conservative Party.

As you would expect in any party, colleagues talk to each other about possible alignments in the new European parliament, but these discussions clearly cannot reach any conclusion until the results of the election are known.

After the election, William Hague and the party will decide what new alignment is appropriate, and I expect all Conservatives MEPs to support the leader's position.

I stand in these elections as a Conservative and a Hague loyalist, and like all our Tory candidates, I stand foursquare on the party's excellent manifesto.

ROGER HELMER

Conservative Party MEP candidate

East Midlands Region

Blaby,

Leicestershire