Top Scots Tory brands new political party fascist

BRITAIN’s newest political party has been condemned as "fascist and undemocratic" by the leader of the Scottish Tories.

David McLetchie hit out at the right-wing New Party, said to be funded by several leading businessmen, as an outline of its policy platform began to emerge.

Despite the policies not being revealed until next month, the party is said to support a form of martial law, with the Army running schools and hospitals. It is also said to want big tax cuts, particularly for businesses, and a severe reduction in the role of local councils.

The party, which intends to put up candidates at the Scottish Parliament elections in May, wants to scrap the Scottish Parliament and the Welsh Assembly.

It also wants House of Commons debates to be replaced by teams of MPs appearing before unelected panels of independent experts.

Mr McLetchie said: "This is an undemocratic, fascist party as we can see from their policies, and as such it will be completely anathema to the people of Scotland."

Stewart Crawford, a former Army lieutenant colonel who stood for the Scottish National Party in the Scottish Parliament elections in 1999, is one of the New Party’s key advisers in Scotland.

Mr Crawford said that he was not a member of the New Party, which bears the same name as that of Oswald Mosley’s party of the 1930’s. However, his public affairs firm would be advising the party on it’s launch.