There's more news today on my report a few days ago that Tory MEPs will resist any attempt by a new leader to forcibly detach them from the mainstream centre-right Christian Democrat group in the European Parliament. David Cameron has indicated that he would want his MEPs to set up a new, eurosceptic right-wing fringe group rather than continue to sit with centre-right colleagues from across Europe. According to The Times, whose headline is CAMERON IN DANGER OVER 'CLOUD CUCKOOLAND EURO POLICY':

"He announced the policy without consulting Timothy Kirkhope, the Conservative leader in Europe, who was so alarmed that he insisted on a meeting yesterday in which he set out the consequences to the young leadership hopeful. Under the party's rules, it can leave the EPP [Christian Democrats] only with the agreement of its leader in Europe…

"Sir Robert Atkins, the MEP for North West England, a former Conservative minister and a Cameron supporter, has written to local Conservatives describing Mr Cameron's policies as 'cloud-cuckoo-land'…Another Cameron supporter, Philip Bushill-Matthews, the MEP for the West Midlands, issued a press release last night urging Mr Cameron 'not to create new splits over Europe when he should be uniting our party to replace the present Government'."