Cameron under fire from Tebbit

DAVID Cameron's brand of compassionate Conservativism has failed to impress one of his party's leading figures, who will compare the new Tory leader to Pol Pot, the Cambodian communist tyrant.

Lord Tebbit, a former Conservative chairman, will echo the concerns of other traditionalists, telling the Bow Group think-tank in a speech tomorrow that Mr Cameron has adopted "New Labour lite" policies.

He will ponder Mr Cameron's true political identity, saying: "Is he the party's Chairman Mao or Pol Pot intent on purging even the memory of Thatcherism, before building a New Modern Compassionate Green Globally Aware Party somewhere on the left side of the middle ground?"

Mr Cameron also found himself under attack from MEPs yesterday over his plans to pull the Tories out of the mainstream European People's Party alignment in Brussels.

Edward McMillan-Scott, a former Tory leader in the European Parliament, said: "Mr Cameron seems to be working towards the centre at home and yet moving to the extreme right abroad as fast as he can."

Former Tory leader William Hague, now shadow foreign secretary, will be in Brussels this week to carve out a new political grouping for Tory MEPs.