BRITAIN: Former chat-show host and East Midlands MEP Mr Robert Kilroy-Silk launched Veritas, his new political party yesterday, vowing to reclaim his country and "change the face of British politics".
The one-time Labour MP turned UK Independence Party defector said Veritas - latin for truth - aimed to sweep away "the lies, evasions and spin" of the old parties.
And he immediately confirmed his personal style of leadership, telling a Westminster press conference: "I can't hide my tan or my looks, and I don't intend to, and I'm not ashamed of either."
As regards policies, Mr Kilroy-Silk made clear that he was against asylum seekers, what he termed the "nonsense" of multiculturalism and the European Union.
Rejecting comparisons with the late Enoch Powell or Italian Prime Minister, Mr Silvio Berlusconi, Mr Kilroy-Silk denied he was seeking to replace the far-right British National Party while suggesting Veritas might present its greatest immediate challenge to the Labour Party.
There is speculation that Mr Kilroy-Silk will keep his publicity bandwagon rolling today with an announcement that he intends to stand against the Defence Secretary, Mr Geoff Hoon, in his Ashfield constituency in the general election expected in May.
Confirming that his fledgling party has as yet some seven branches and about 250 members, Mr Kilroy-Silk admitted that "scientifically" Veritas did not have a chance. But he maintained there was "a magic mood out there for change, for a new style of politics, for a totally different approach". He insisted even a handful of Veritas MPs in the next House of Commons could help change the face of British politics. "Elect me and a few more like me and I promise they will not get away with their lies again in the future," he said.
Mr Kilroy-Silk made similar promises last June when, as the party's most high profile and media savvy recruit, he helped UKIP take third place and win 12 seats in the European elections. But yesterday's announcement, foreshadowed at a meeting in Leicestershire last week, followed his failure to claim the UKIP leadership.
He said he was ashamed of a UKIP leadership which had "gone AWOL" (absent without leave) after the great opportunity afforded it by its third place in the European poll.
"While UKIP has turned its back on the British people, I shall not," he said. "I will be standing at the next general election, I shall be leading a vigorous campaign for the causes I believe in. And unlike the old parties, we shall be honest, open and straight."
However, UKIP leader Mr Roger Knapman, who refused last summer to make way for his party's new "star" turn, said yesterday he was glad to see the back of Mr Kilroy-Silk. "He has remarkable ability to influence people," said Mr Knapman. "But sadly, after the European election, it became clear that he was more interested in the Robert Kilroy-Silk Party than the UK Independence Party. So it was nice knowing him, now 'goodbye'."
And London assembly member Mr Damien Hockney - who resigned from UKIP and has been named deputy leader of Veritas - conceded that the new party would almost certainly never have been formed had UKIP made Mr Kilroy-Silk its leader.
The Veritas leader - who confirmed yesterday that one his first tasks would be to organise a leadership election - said his party would announce detailed policies on crime, tax, pensions, health and defence in the coming weeks.
However, he gave the flavour of his populist pitch yesterday claiming Britain was being "stolen" from her people by mass immigration. Labour and Conservatives, he said, had promised to control immigration and asylum but had instead surrendered power to Brussels.
Labour campaign spokesman Mr Fraser Kemp said: "Veritas joins an already crowded field on the right of British politics. The difference between the policy of the Tories, UKIP and Veritas is primarily one of degree. And in terms of personalities, the choice between Michael 'Poll Tax' Howard, Robert Kilroy-Silk and Roger Knapman is not likely to excite anybody."