Duncan Smith sacks BNP-linked backer

Mr Duncan Smith 'acted within 45 minutes'

A Conservative Party member with close links to the far-right British National Party has been sacked from Iain Duncan Smith's leadership campaign team.

Edgar Griffin, a campaign vice president in Montgomery, Wales, is the father of BNP chairman Nick Griffin and his wife Jean also stood for the party against Mr Duncan Smith in the last election.

I have fought these people in the BNP and I will have nothing to do with them

Iain Duncan Smith

Despite initial confusion over his status, the leadership hopeful's supporters insist Mr Griffin was sacked within 45 minutes of his BNP links becoming known.

But the controversy threatened to make the already bitter contest against Ken Clarke even uglier, with Mr Duncan Smith accusing his rival's supporters of "seeking to play political games" with it.

"I in my constituency and elsewhere have fought these people - I loathe everything they stand for," the shadow defence secretary told BBC News.

'Allegations and abuse'

"Those in my opponents' camp who now are seeking to play political games with this should stop carefully to examine what they are about to do.

"They are hurling allegations at the moment and abuse, and have been doing so for some days, without ever centring any of it on anything that I believe in or I say.

"If they want to unite the party after this they're going to have to take careful stock."

Edgar Griffin: Says he is not a BNP supporter

Mr Duncan Smith added that part of his campaign for the leadership was based on wanting more ethnic community members in the Conservative Party and parliament.

Members of his team are also asking questions about the Conservative Party in Wales, which they believe should "root out people like this".

They have demanded an inquiry, saying it was not their job to carry out "MI5"-style vetting of helpers.

Mr Griffin - whose name is on letterheads used by the Tory leadership hopeful - had said he would be prepared to resign if he had caused embarrassment.

But the 79-year-old still launched a vigorous defence of his views, for example on voluntary repatriation of immigrants.

Committed Tory

His beliefs might be out of step with Tory party leaders, he told BBC Radio 4's Today programme, but were in tune with "virtually every one" of the grassroots members.

"There is nothing startling or extraordinary about my views - they are perfectly normal.

"As a Conservative Party member I have reason to differ in detail occasionally from another party member."

Earlier the retired accountant said he remained a committed Tory and was not a BNP supporter - but believed the two parties "are almost the same in terms of long-term plans".

In terms of manifestos of the Tories and the BNP, you can hardly tell the difference

Edgar Griffin

He says he was recruited for the Duncan Smith campaign locally where his political views are "perfectly well known", but he had never met the contender himself.

Conservative vice-chairman Stephen Norris, who is backing Ken Clarke in the two-horse race to be leader, said the row showed that Mr Duncan Smith's campaign was attracting the wrong sort of people.

Mr Norris said Mr Duncan Smith had not done enough to distance himself from Edgar Griffin.

He said: "Iain's problem is that however nicely he says it, his message attracts precisely these sorts of people.

"That's why so many of us are so determined to stop the party drifting to the right.

Mr Griffin said Henry Lloyd Davies, chairman of the Conservative Party in Wales, had told him "there is no problem whatsoever as far as he is concerned".

On BBC Wales Mr Davies said he has received a personal assurance from Mr Griffin that he has never worked in the BNP office and saw no reason to pursue the matter further.