The Editor
The Scotsman
108 Holyrood Road
Edinburgh            EH8 8AS

02 July 2009

Sir, In his ‘Platform’ piece ‘New centre-right bloc breaks Brussels’ cosy consensus’ (The Scotsman 02.07.2009) my Scottish Conservative colleague Struan Stevenson MEP uses sophistry to try and claim that the new group David Cameron has dragged him and his colleagues into in the European Parliament is on the ‘centre-right’.  Although we have a wide spectrum of political groups in the European Parliament by no stretch of the imagination could it be said the new Conservatives and Reformist Group (ECR) – which contains homophobes, racists, fascists and climate change deniers -is anywhere near the ‘centre’.

As Struan has elsewhere acknowledged he had concerns himself about being part of a group containing ‘fascists, outcasts and ne’er-do-wells’.  Confirmation of his initial concerns came on the very first day the group was formed when its Finish member Hannu Takkula MEP withdrew from the ECR following a phone call from the Finish Prime Minister telling him he should be ‘wary’ of who he was associating with.  Hannu Takkula withdrew and rejoined the Liberal grouping the ALDE in the centre.

Struan’s own colleague, the highly experienced UK Tory MEP, Edward McMillan-Scott has himself stated that he has ‘concerns’ about the background of some of the group’s new members.  I would predict that as certain members of the ECR group make their views known in debate in the European Parliament there will be no doubt that these will be on the extreme-right and that Hannu Takkula will not be the last to leave and rejoin the centre of European politics.

Yours sincerely
 
David Martin MEP