The leader of the Conservative Party, Mr Iain Duncan Smith, has dropped Mr Steven Norris as party vice chairman. Mr Norris, a Tory moderate who backed Mr Michael Portillo and then Mr Kenneth Clarke in the party's leadership contest, told a radio station he was "not aware" he had been sacked.
However, Conservative Central Office confirmed yesterday that Mr Norris was no longer a vice-chairman. During the leadership campaign, Mr Norris accused Mr Duncan Smith of attracting extremists after it emerged that a member of his team had links with the British National Party. In a BBC radio interview yesterday, Mr Norris said: " I shan't cry if it happens and I am sure I'll find other things to do."