Ousted Tory Edward McMillan-Scott crosses over to Lib Dems

The former leader of the Tory group in Brussels was kicked out of the party last year after criticising their new European allies.

He was appealing against the decision, but has now joined Nick Clegg's party - which is meeting in Birmingham for its spring conference this weekend - and is expected to appear at a press conference tomorrow.

The defection is a pre-election coup for the Lib Dems, although Mr McMillan-Scott had alienated many Tory activists by his outspoken criticism of the party's alliance with minor right-wing parties in Brussels.

Mr McMillan-Scott launched a bitter attack on David Cameron, saying he feared that the Tory leader was saying "one thing in opposition and will do another in Government".

"My reasons for joining the Liberal Democrats are that in Nick Clegg they have a leader whom I like, admire and respect," he said. "They are internationalists, not nationalists. They are committed to politics based the values of fairness and change.

"From being a liberal Conservative I become a conservative Liberal. Most of my family are liberals: I am pleased to join the Liberal family."

Mr Clegg said he was "delighted" to welcome Mr McMillan-Scott, and said he was a "respected" politician across Europe.

"As someone of principle he has refused to cosy up to right wing extremists, despite pressure from the Tory machine," he said.

"This flies in the face of David Cameron's claims of change. It shows that people of principle, who believe in fairness and want real change for Britain are at home in the Liberal Democrats."

Mr McMillan-Scott's Tory downfall began when he objected to being obliged by Tory high command to join forces in Strasbourg with Mr Kaminski's Law and Justice Party.

Mr McMillan-Scott immediately began public protests at what he claimed were Mr Kaminski's "anti-Semitic, homophobic and racist" links.

The result was expulsion from the Tory party last September for embarrassing Mr Cameron by accusing his party of associating with extremism at a time when the far right made big gains in the euro-elections last June.

Mr McMillan-Scott, who was leader of the Tory Euro-group for four years, seemed to seal his fate when he commented: "This is no longer the party I knew."

He had been aware that when the deal was done for Tory MEPs to leave a longstanding pro-EU alliance in Strasbourg and form a more eurosceptic group, the result would be an alliance with the controversial Polish Law and Justice Party.

Other Tory MEPs said little or nothing, but Mr McMillan-Scott continued to speak out.

He was infuriated by an "abusive, humiliating" letter from shadow foreign secretary William Hague, ordering him to apologise to Mr Kaminski, and to Tory group leader Timothy Kirkhope.

Two months ago, Mr McMillan-Scott insisted: "They can take me out of the Conservative Party but they cannot take the Conservative out of me, but even my loyalty is now stretched."

Today's announcement confirmed that his loyalty had reached breaking point.

Labour leader in the European Parliament Glenis Willmott seized on the defection as a sign of Tory disarray over Europe.

She said: "This news is a savage indictment of the modern Tory party and its dubious European allies.

"It just goes to show how far the Conservatives have moved away from the political mainstream."