THE leading candidate for the UK Independence Party in Scotland previously stood down from the same position in the north-east of England amid a row over the party's links with the ultra-right British National Party.

This prompted the SNP last night to claim that UKIP's credibility in next week's European election had been destroyed, but Peter Troy insisted that he ''abhorred'' the BNP and said his part in the row in England had come as a result of a genuine mistake, not deliberate intention.

Mr Troy, originally from west London, now lives in Sedgefield, County Durham, Tony Blair's parliamentary constituency.

He is chairman of the UKIP branch in the area and was selected to be number one on the party's north-east of England list. Then last year, the entire regional committee of the party was suspended as its London headquarters investigated allegations of close links with the BNP.

Mr Troy stood down as candidate and the investigation concluded that, as part of a sudden influx of new members, Mr Troy had recruited Trevor Agnew, a BNP activist, and paid his membership fees.

While Mr Troy moved on to be selected for the top position on the list in Scotland, three senior regional committee office bearers were suspended, including the chairman, who said: ''It is astonishing that Peter Troy should still be in the party, let alone a candidate in Scotland.''

Alyn Smith, who is second on the SNP list and will be taking part in next week's cross-party STUC event on ''showing racist parties the red card'', said: ''These revelations entirely destroy the credibility of the UKIP in this election.

''But more importantly, they serve as a reminder to the vast majority of Scots who reject the extremism and intolerance of the UKIP and BNP of the need to turn out and vote for the real values of Scotland on June 10.''

Mr Troy yesterday was campaigning in Kelso, and is to travel all over Scotland in coming days speaking on the party's keynote theme that EU membership has damaged Britain in terms of farming, fishing and immigration.

He said there had been ''some internal disharmony'' in the regional party last year, adding: ''Trevor Agnew came to a meeting that I chaired, gave a false address, and said he wanted to join. I was unaware of his BNP membership. If I had known, I would not have recruited him.

''Both me personally, and the party generally, totally abhor the BNP. We have all got to sign a disclaimer saying we will have nothing to do with them.''

The BNP has, in the past, been more forthcoming about links at local level between activists of the two parties, and a BNP candidate in Yorkshire and Humberside was described as ''pact liaison officer for the north'', but there is now greater rivalry between them, particularly with the UKIP showing signs of taking off in England.

The candidature of high-profile converts such as Robert Kilroy Silk, the former Labour MP and talk show host, has greatly helped the party in terms of both recognition and respectability, while a poll a week ago put them within striking distance of the Liberal Democrats on a UK basis, and actually ahead among those claiming to be certain to vote.

Such an increase also bodes ill for Conservative hopes of a morale-boosting victory over Labour to confirm that, under Michael Howard, they are on the road to electoral recovery. This was not helped yesterday by Lord Pearson of Rannoch, one of four Conservative peers who had the whip withdrawn for calling on Tory voters to support UKIP next week.

Lord Pearson, who will be meeting Mr Troy in Scotland next week, said a swing to the UKIP was the only way to persuade Mr Howard to advocate pulling Britain out of the EU. ''Within the party, we have failed to persuade Michael Howard to take a much tougher line towards the EU,'' he said.

Lord Pearson accused Europhiles of trying to frighten the public into believing that leaving the EU would lose Britain jobs, but he said ''every respectable study'' had shown that would not happen.

He said the Commons was being turned into a rubber stamp, powerless to block laws imposed by Brussels. ''The EU is indeed a tidying-up exercise,'' he added. ''It sweeps the rest of our sovereignty under the Brussels carpet.''

Facts and fictions

Myth: European legislation requires all bananas sold in Britain to be straight.

EU rules do set standards for the size and quality of bananas. But so do individual governments and the industry itself. In fact, their laws provided the basis for the EU regulations. Abnormal curvature might be limited, but the shape of bananas is not due to change much any time soon.

Fact: European regulations are good for the British car buyer.

EU-driven changes to the so-called ''block exemption'' rule in the car industry have given dealers the ability to sell more than one make and break the monopoly on servicing and repair held by garages. In addition, cheaper cars will be easier to import from Europe or to purchase over the internet, with increased competition translating into better prices in the UK.