EU parliament deputies turn on own leader

British Tory MEPs have rounded on party leader David Cameron for declining an invitation to a key gathering of centre-right leaders in Brussels.

The UK Conservative leader turned down an invitation to Thursday’s annual EPP-ED meeting, which is expected to include German chancellor Angela Merkel and the new French premier, Francois Fillon, and is timed to coincide with this week's EU summit.

Cameron has pledged to pull the Tories out of the EPP-ED after the 2009 European elections, promising to create a new right-of-centre grouping in parliament.

But his decision not to attend tomorrow’s meeting has angered some Tory deputies, including Caroline Jackson, an MEP since 1984.

“He should be there to speak up for the British Tories, which is one of the largest national delegations in the EPP-ED,” she said.

“He has made a mistake about the EPP-ED and he keeps on making the same mistake. At some point, he is going to have to face up to this.

“This gathering presents a good opportunity for him to put his views across and would have been an important part of his political education.

“With new leaders in France and Germany, this represents a new start for the EU and is absurd for him to pass up the chance to be there," said Jackson, a former chair of the environment committee.

Jackson, who is not seeking re-election in 2009, also criticised Cameron’s courting of “odds and sods” political parties in his bid to create a new European grouping.

Her comments were echoed by another Conservative MEP Christopher Beazley, who said, “I regret that a Conservative party leader is not going to be present at this very important preparatory meeting.”

Another senior Tory MEP, who declined to be named, described Cameron's decision as “plain daft”.

Cameron has rejected claims that the Tory split from the EPP-ED will leave the party isolated from the German-French axis of influence in Europe.

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