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Tory candidate in immigration row | Tory candidate in immigration row |
(30 minutes later) | |
A Conservative candidate has been summoned to a meeting with the party chairman after declaring that Enoch Powell was "right" on immigration. | |
Nigel Hastilow, who will contest Halesowen and Rowley Regis, made the comments in a newspaper column. | |
Mr Powell was sacked from the shadow cabinet after a controversial speech in 1968 against uncontrolled immigration. | |
A Tory spokesman said candidates of all parties should take "great care" when discussing immigration. | |
He added that Mr Hastilow "will be told this in clear terms" during the meeting. | |
The Conservative hopeful made the comments in a column for the Express and Star newspaper in Wolverhampton - where Mr Powell had been the MP at the time of his 1968 speech. | |
The candidate wrote: "When you ask most people in the Black Country what the single biggest problem facing the country is, most say immigration. | |
This is the last thing David Cameron wanted Guto HarriBBC Political Correspondent | |
"Many insist: 'Enoch Powell was right'. Enoch, once MP for Wolverhampton South-West, was sacked from the Conservative front bench and marginalised politically for his 1968 'rivers of blood' speech, warning that uncontrolled immigration would change our country irrevocably. | |
"He was right. It has changed dramatically." | |
Mr Hastilow also wrote: "They have more or less given up complaining about the way we roll out the red carpet for foreigners while leaving the locals to fend for themselves." | |
BBC Political Correspondent Guto Harri said: "This is the last thing David Cameron wanted." | |
He said "there is a debate to be had" on the issue, but the Conservative leader would not want his party to be associated with the tone used by the party's candidate in a key Midlands seat. | |
Meanwhile, Labour has called for Mr Hastilow to be sacked over the "unacceptable" comments. |