Hannan will not face disciplinary action, Conservative officials say

The prominent Conservative MEP Daniel Hannan will not face disciplinary action after naming Enoch Powell as one of his political heroes, Conservative officials have said.

Hannan, who was recently criticised for attacking the National Health Service in a series of US television appearances, praised the late Tory MP in an interview with the internet television channel reason.tv.

Asked to name which figures had influenced his political beliefs, he replied: ""In the British context, Enoch Powell ... as somebody who understood the importance of national democracy, who understood why you need to live in an independent country and what that meant, as well as being a free marketeer and a small-government Conservative."

Conservative sources said that Hannan would not be disciplined because his comments had not referred to Powell's anti-immigration stance.
Powell, a Tory MP from 1950-1974, was expelled from the shadow cabinet after his notorious "Rivers of Blood" speech in which he warned that continued immigration would lead to civil strife.

Labour figures argued that the presence of Hannan in the party discredited David Cameron's claim to have modernised the party.
Business Secretary Lord Mandelson said: "Yet again we are seeing the two faces of the Conservative party: the one they want to present to the public and the one which attacks the NHS and praises Enoch Powell."

Parmjit Dhanda, Labour MP for Gloucester, said: "Last week Daniel Hannan attacked the NHS. Now he's talking up Enoch Powell as a key influence for Cameron's Conservatives. When another Tory candidate praised Enoch Powell in 2007, David Cameron criticised him and he was forced to resign. The question now for Cameron is whether he will take similar action against Daniel Hannan."

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