Afzal Amin: EDL leader claims shadowy millionaire backed Tory Dudley candidate's plot

The Conservative parliamentary candidate accused of trying to stage manage a far-right march in his constituency resigned tonight as fresh claims emerged that he had been backed by a millionaire “money man” who appeared to be trying to “infiltrate” the Tory party.

Tommy Robinson, the former leader of the English Defence League, who revealed the alleged plot by former Army officer Afzal Amin to boost his chances of winning a key marginal, claimed the unnamed businessman had offered to ensure he would “never go hungry” in return for his assistance.

Mr Amin, 40, has resigned as candidate for the Labour-held Dudley North seat hours after insisting he would mount a “robust defence” of his actions before a disciplinary committee tomorrow. Conservative sources had already indicated he was likely to be sacked after recordings were made by Mr Robinson of his negotiations with the would-be MP.

Announcing that the Tories would be moving “swiftly” to appoint a new candidate, a party spokesman said Mr Amin was stepping down “with immediate effect”.

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Mr Robinson, who resigned from the EDL in 2013 and warned of the dangers of extremism, told LBC Radio that his meetings with Mr Amin earlier this month had been attended by a longstanding acquaintance of the politician.

Mr Robinson said he had been told the Birmingham-based businessman had made a £60m fortune and he was suspicious of his motives because he was a Labour supporter.

Mr Robinson said: “This money man is worth £60m. He’s come down and told me he’ll do whatever it takes to get Afzal in.

“He’s not a Conservative and he’s backing someone and he’s doing everything possible to get someone in. What I see is infiltration of a political party with a different agenda.”

The former EDL leader, who denied claims by Mr Amin that he was still active in the far-right group, alleged that he had been offered financial security by the businessman in return for his co-operation. It is not clear whether Mr Amin knew his alleged backer was also a Labour supporter.

During meetings filmed clandestinely by Mr Robinson, Mr Amin appeared to lobby for the EDL to announce a phony protest march against the proposed construction of a large mosque in Dudley, which would then be called off following the ex-Tory candidate’s intervention. In the footage, Mr Amin said he agreed with “95 per cent” of the positions taken by the EDL and would act as a “very strong, unshakeable ally” of the group should he be elected.

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Mr Robinson said: “When the money man came and met me, he told me so long as I could help get them into Parliament I would never go hungry, I would be financially looked after.”

Prior to his resignation, Mr Amin, who served in Afghanistan and was part of an Army unit seeking to resolve tribal tensions, claimed that the suggested EDL scheme had been “very normal conflict resolution, confidence-building measures”.

He also insisted that the march, which would have followed an early EDL demonstration in Dudley in February, had been proposed by Mr Robinson. Mr Amin said: “There is no way that I would have the confidence to propose such a manoeuvre to the EDL leadership.”

Mr Amin did not respond to a request to comment on the allegations that he had had a wealthy backer. Mr Robinson told The Independent he had nothing further to add to his interview.