By Martin Banks - 13th November 2008
I understand that he will still be paid and this is taxpayers' money. People in the East Midlands are paying him to do a job of work which he is not doing
British Socialist MEP Glenis Willmott on Robert Kilroy-Silk's decision to appear on a British TV show
UK independent MEP Robert Kilroy-Silk's decision to take part in the British TV reality show 'I'm A Celebrity...Get Me Out of Here!' has angered MEPs in Brussels.
A number of deputies claim Kilroy-Silk, who is rarely seen in parliament and is thought to spend most of his time in Spain, already has one of the worst attendance records for MEPs.
British Socialist MEP Glenis Willmott said: "I understand that he will still be paid and this is taxpayers' money. People in the East Midlands are paying him to do a job of work which he is not doing.
"I also understand that he'll get paid from the television company and I mean it's just money for old rope, it's an absolute disgrace.
"And I'm sure people in the East Midlands will resent the fact that he's doing it," she added.
Kilroy-Silk's spokesman declined to comment on the TV appearance but said the MEP had tabled 1200 parliamentary questions this year on a range of issues.
Kilroy-Silk, a former UK Labour MP, was sacked from his BBC daytime show in 2004 after writing a newspaper column in which he described Arabs as "suicide bombers, limb amputators and woman-repressers".
After a failed attempt to become leader of the UK Independence Party, he formed his own political group, Veritas, but quit as leader five months later.
Kilroy-Silk was unavailable for comment but is reporting as saying, "Every member of my family is full of apprehension about me going into the jungle because they think I'm going to be a nightmare and screw up in some way.
“My wife would say I'm difficult. My daughter would say I'm difficult. My son would say I'm difficult. So I assume I'm difficult. But I don't think I'll have any problems integrating with a group of people.
"Clearly I have very strong opinions and other people will have too, but I don't see the jungle as being the place where they should be aired. It's not Question Time, is it?"
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