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		Kilroy Silk on an ego-trip, say Tory MEPs Tuesday, 12 October 2004 East Midlands Conservative MEPs Roger Helmer and Chris Heaton-Harris have attacked the extraordinary outbursts from UKIP MEP Robert Kilroy Silk in recent days. The perma-tanned former chat-show host astonished his UKIP party conference by calling on them to "Kill the Conservative Party". Then in an interview with the Daily Telegraph, he expressed his exasperation that UKIP had not made him their party leader, and said he was no longer willing to run round the country promoting UKIP when he wasn't given the responsibility of controlling it. The Conservative MEPs point out that the only Party with any hope of forming a euro-realist government is the Conservative Party, and that Kilroy Silk's call to "kill" the Tories flies in the face of his stated objective of protecting British independence. This view is clearly shared by UKIP's main financial backer, Paul Sykes, who decided to pull the plug on UKIP and support the Conservatives instead when he heard of Kilroy-Silk's comments. Commenting on these events, Roger Helmer said "Over a quarter of East Midlands voters in the June euro-elections supported Kilroy Silk's party, and they have been spectacularly let down. It is clear that Kilroy Silk is simply on an ego trip. He's not interested in British independence -- only in his own career". Chris Heaton-Harris added "If UKIP pursue their plan to stand in the General Election against euro-sceptic Conservatives, the only result will be that more federalist Labour and Lib-Dem MEPs will be elected. Anyone voting for UKIP might just as well vote Labour or Lib-Dem, because a UKIP vote will help Labour and Lib-Dem MPs get elected".