The former Tory deputy chairman, Howard Flight, was last night heading for a direct confrontation with his party leader Michael Howard over his abrupt removal from political life following his gaffe on the party's £35bn spending cuts plans.
The multimillionaire called in lawyers to advise him on seeking an emergency general meeting of Arundel and South Downs Conservative Association in an attempt to overturn its move to seek a candidate to replace him. Conservative Central Office remained determined to stop him.
Senior Tories told the Guardian yesterday that the unequivocal nature of Mr Howard's action was likely to cause long-term harm to his leadership, particularly if his election campaign was unsuccessful. Further pressure was applied on Mr Flight when a party spokesman confirmed that he had been sacked from running the Conservative City Circle campaign to raise £20m from the City for May's expected general election.
Mr Flight was working with a number of leading City figures and Tory high fliers to raise the cash. They included Mark Archer, deputy chief executive of Allianz Dresdner Asset Management (UK), and Philip Keevil, managing director of Citigroup Global Markets, and an accomplished fundraiser for Oxford University and the London Symphony Orchestra. He also worked closely with another multimillionaire, Colin Barrow, a rising star on Westminster city council and a trustee of the influential Tory thinktank, Policy Exchange.
None of them could be contacted yesterday but a Tory MP who is close to the organisation said: "Conservative City Circle is very much Mr Flight's creation. They are bound to be unhappy about his abrupt removal." Mr Flight, who was taped at a private meeting speculating that the Tories' £35bn pledged spending cuts would only "be the start" if they won the election, said in a statement last night: "I was unanimously approved as a candidate five weeks ago.
"I am seeking to address a general meeting of the local party and there should then be a vote as to whether they want to keep me as the candidate for Arundel and South Downs. Apart from anything else, whatever the result, it is crucially important that this is seen to be done properly."
Earlier the former Tory cabinet minister Lord Tebbit, writing in the Independent on Sunday, warned the saga could "inflate a storm in a teacup to a political gale. Politics is about judgement as well as logic and many Tories will question if Flight should be virtually expelled from parliament".
Senior Tory MPs said that dissatisfaction with the sacking the MP was more widespread than just among Thatcherities. One senior backbencher said: "Nothing will probably happen this side of an election, but if Mr Howard loses, he will be taken to task over this."
Mr Howard defended his position in an interview with the Sunday Telegraph, saying: "It's a terrible let-down when someone goes and behaves like this. What I can't have is someone misrepresenting my view, misrepresenting what we do in government and suggesting that we say one thing in private and another thing in public. That's not the way I do politics."
Labour last night continued to press the issue home. The Cabinet Office minister, David Miliband, said: "The real issue is not one individual but the Tory policy agenda he has exposed. The Tories are now in disarray and their tax and spending proposals are unravelling."
At a news conference intended to be on the Conservatives' childcare policies, Michael Howard's decision to sack Conservative MP Howard Flight has continued to dominate as the ex-Tory deputy chairman's expulsion from the party was the subject of every question.

The affair began when the MP for Arundel and South Downs was recorded as saying that the conservatives' spending cuts of £35bn would 'only be the start' under a Tory Government. This issue has been of particular significance in the run-up to the expected General election on May 5th.

Mr. Flight has resisted his removal from the candidate list, insisting it is the prerogative of the local party members only and not head office. He has taken legal advice as to summoning an emergency general meeting of Arundel and South Downs Conservative Association.

Howard Flight has insisted that he would not stand as an independent candidate.