Former Tory attacks party and joins UKIP

Published on Thursday 16 October 2008 10:16

A CONTROVERSIAL former Tory candidate has launched a stinging attack on his former colleagues and signed up for the UK Independence Party.

Mike Scott-Hayward, who stood against Alistair Darling in Edinburgh Central at the 1997 election, accused the Conservatives of going soft on their opposition to the separation of Scotland and England by deciding to back the SNP Government's budget.

He also criticised the party for failing to promise the restoration of the Scottish regiments.

Mr Scott-Hayward, a watch keeper for HM Coastguard and former leader of the Tory group on Fife Council, resigned from the party earlier this year. He announced yesterday he has joined UKIP.

He said: "The party I served has gone quiet on the issue of our sovereignty. Whilst the Lisbon Treaty was pushed through Westminster, we saw no concerted public action, but instead a smoke screen, with the leadership switching to arguments in public about the issue of ID cards."

Mr Scott-Hayward nearly became an MSP when Brian Monteith quit the Tories in 2005.