Conservatives lose leadership of new Eurosceptic grouping in EU

Polish MEP will lead group in Strasbourg after major internal row forces Conservatives to surrender position

The Conservatives have been forced to forfeit the leadership of their new Eurosceptic grouping in the European parliament in order to prevent it from falling apart in its first few days.

Timothy Kirkhope, the Tory leader in the chamber in Strasbourg, had to surrender the leadership of the new group to the Polish MEP Michal Kaminski, after a row that was triggered when Tory MEP Edward McMillan-Scott defied the party whip and stood for one of the vice-presidency posts in the new parliament, despite Conservative pledges last week that Kaminski would be supported for the post. Kaminski's bid for a vice-presidency then failed.

McMillan-Scott ignored pleas from David Cameron to make way for Kaminski. The Polish MEPs then threatened to abandon the new caucus of European Conservatives and Reformists on its very first day unless Kaminski was made the group leader in the parliament, and rejected Kirkhope's plan to share the group leadership with him. The 55-strong grouping is the fourth biggest caucus in the new parliament and the Tories are the strongest national contributor.