Inquiry into Fortuyn's security

Fortuyn was shot dead by a lone gunman

Geraldine Coughlan BBC correspondent in the Hague

The interim Dutch cabinet has installed an independent commission to investigate the security surrounding the right-wing politician Pim Fortuyn prior to his murder last week.

Mr Fortuyn's newly formed political party is running in a general election on Wednesday.

Fortuyn: Anti-immigration platform

Top election candidates from all parties have been given police protection ahead of the poll.

The five-member commission will look into whether Mr Fortuyn was properly protected while he was electioneering.

His radical ideas inflamed public opinion, and he reported receiving mild threats.

But he had not filed any official complaints with the police, and he had not requested a bodyguard.

The commission will probe whether these threats should have been taken more seriously by the authorities.

Party rejects commission

On Tuesday, the police arrested three people in connection with an incident in March when protestors threw cake at Mr Fortuyn as he was speaking to the media.

They are being held on the grounds of carrying out aggression in public.

The police are trying to establish whether they are connected with Volkert Van der Graaf, the man prosecutors have charged with Mr Fortuyn's murder.

The new chairman of the Pim Fortuyn List, Peter Langendam, said he had no confidence in the new commission.

Mr Langendam has apologised for remarks he made on Monday claiming that the Prime Minister, Wim Kok, and other political leaders contributed to a hate campaign that led to Mr Fortuyn's murder.

But Mr Fortuyn's lawyers have filed an official complaint with the public prosecutor claiming that certain politicians and members of the media were responsible for inciting hatred towards him.