Very British (Political) Subjects

Euro Tories suspend MEP in row over EU president
By David Rennie

A Conservative MEP had his party membership suspended yesterday by the head of the British Tory delegation in the European Parliament after an angry debate about excessive European Union secrecy.

Four other British Conservatives were threatened with expulsion from the European People's Party, the parliament's majority centre-Right faction, by the EPP's German leader, Hans-Gert Poettering.

The suspension left Roger Helmer, the Conservative MEP for the East Midlands, in a legal and political no-man's land.

Mr Helmer's punishment threatens to shatter the fragile consensus that has allowed British Tories to sit in the 286-strong bloc, despite its strongly pro-European leanings.
The suspension was triggered after Mr Helmer publicly accused the Tory leader in the European Parliament, Timothy Kirkhope, of "inappropriately" demanding he remove his name from a motion of censure against the European Commission.

Mr Helmer accused Mr Poettering of being behind that "pressure", telling the EPP leader he had "brought shame on this House".

Moments later the German MEP abruptly told parliament that Mr Helmer was no longer a member of his grouping, a declaration that followed no known parliamentary rule.

Within hours Mr Helmer was stripped of his British Tory whip - a move that angry colleagues said was designed to save Mr Poettering's face.

The row was expected to extend to Westminster last night, where MPs pledged to raise Mr Helmer's suspension with the backbench 1922 Committee.

The extraordinary scenes began when the president of the European Commission, Jose Manuel Barroso, presented himself in the European Parliament chamber in Brussels to answer a formal "motion of censure" tabled by the UK Independence Party leader, Nigel Farage.

The motion was tabled and signed by 77 MEPs from across the political spectrum after Mr Barroso refused to answer a parliamentary question about a holiday taken aboard the yacht of a Greek billionaire, Spiros Latsis, citing his right to privacy.

Five of the MEPs who signed were British Conservatives: Mr Helmer, Daniel Hannan, Chris Heaton-Harris, David Sumberg and Martin Callanan.