London - Tory MP, Mr Laurence Robertson, yesterday apologised for backing controversial comments on race by Yorkshire East MP, Mr John Townend, and retracted his own remarks and promised not to repeat them.
The Tewkesbury MP issued his statement following a meeting with senior Conservative whips, described by party officials as "tough and uncompromising", at which he was told that he would be stripped of the Tory whip unless he backed down immediately.
The party's hierarchy moved against Mr Robertson after he said that Mr Townend's remarks were "basically true". Mr Robertson said on the BBC 2 Newsnight programme last night that Mr Townend had raised "important issues" and went on to say that "cramming" different racial groups together was making society difficult to manage.