South-east MEP joins far-right group
Thursday, 11 January 2007 12:00 AM
A British MEP has joined a new far-right grouping in the European parliament, which includes the French National Front and an anti-semitic Romanian party.
Ashley Mote, who represents the south-east of England, was once a member of the UK Independence Party (Ukip) but was expelled in 2004 and now sits as an independent.
He has joined the Identity, Tradition, Sovereignty (ITS) group in Brussels, which includes members of Le Pen's far-right French party, the National Front, and the granddaughter of Italian dictator Benito Mussolini, Alessandra Mussolini.
Mr Mote said the formation of the group was "long overdue" and said it was "difficult to imagine any MEP sensitive to the needs of their constituents disagreeing with the text" of the new party's declaration.
ITS's key principles include commitments to "Christian values, heritage, culture and the traditions of European civilization", to the "traditional family as the natural unit within society" and to the rule of law, and opposition to the idea of a European super-state.
Although MEPs from a number of far-right groups have been sitting together for 30 months, their establishment as a formal grouping in the European parliament was only made possible by the accession of Romania and Bulgaria on January 1st.
To get funding and official status, groups must have at least 19 MEPs from five different countries. With the accession of Romania, the group gained five MEPs from the Greater Roma Party, which is famous for its anti-semitic and anti-Roma views.
However, Mr Mote attempted to distance himself from some of the more controversial members of the group, including National Front MEP Bruno Gollnisch, who is awaiting a verdict on charges of denying the Holocaust.
"May I make clear that I am not involved in the political activities of any of the other member states represented in ITS. Nor are MEPs from those member states planning to involve themselves in British politics," he said.
But he stressed: "The other groups will no longer be able to ignore us. Our very existence will be a force for change and will encourage discussion."
"That must be good for the parliament and for the people who elected us. Indeed the public interest in the formation of ITS is evidence itself of the need for a platform for a genuine centre-right group."
A Ukip spokesman told the BBC the party was "shocked and horrified" by the news that Mr Mote would be joining the ITS, saying: "People in the south-east of England did not vote for this and he should have the decency to resign and give Ukip back their seat."
However, Diana Wallis MEP, leader of the Liberal Democrats in the European parliament, said it exposed a "much darker and sinister side" to Ukip, and should be a "wake-up call" for those in Britain thinking of voting for the party in the future.
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