THE fate of Howard Flight looked increasingly forlorn last night as the Conservative high command ploughed ahead with plans to replace him.

The senior elected officers of Mr Flight’s Arundel & South Downs Conservative Association were presented with a list of ten names in London yesterday, from which they aim to choose his replacement next week.

But Mr Flight’s large group of local supporters was still determined to force a showdown that they hope may save him.

They said Mr Flight’s QC had presented his legal case to Conservative Central Office in London yesterday, arguing that he was entitled to an extraordinary general meeting. His last chance to save his Westminster seat would be if such a meeting were called and local supporters voted to defy Michael Howard’s decision to deselect him.

One of the difficulties for his supporters has been timing: Angela Litchfield, the chair of the local association, returned to the constituency yesterday to prepare for a meeting of the association’s executive on Monday night, when they will whittle the list of new candidates down to four.

But many local Conservatives believe that an EGM to decide Mr Flight’s future could be held next Wednesday night, the same evening set aside for association members to vote on his successor. They believe a meeting could be bolted on before the new candidate meeting starts.

Oliver Wingrove, a local Tory activist, said: “There are logistical difficulties in holding an EGM before Wednesday, and I imagine to hold the two meetings together is a perfectly sensible opportunity.”

Much depends on Mrs Litchfield’s discretion and insiders say that she is in no mood to upset the Conservative Party leadership.

Harold Hall, a vice president of the local association, said that they had expected a decision on the EGM yesterday, but it had been delayed again.

“It is now simply a question of whether the chairman will use the authority she has to fast-track that process,” Mr Hall said.

Those at Tory headquarters believe the law is on their side and that the rules mean that Mr Flight is finished. Andrew MacKay, the deputy chairman in charge of candidates, met the chairman, treasurer and two deputy chairmen from the Arundel association yesterday. He gave them the list of names from which the executive will choose next week and discussed the procedure by which one of them would be selected.

Mr MacKay said last night: “They will have an opportunity to interview a diverse group of extremely able candidates, all of whom would grace Westminsiter and be excellent constituency members.”

The Tories have chosen a fighter pilot who was the face of British Forces in Iraq to stand against Tony Blair as a replacement for Danny Kruger, the candidate sacked by Michael Howard for urging “creative destruction” in public services.

Group Captain Al Lockwood, 53, was Britain’s spokesman at Coalition Central Command in Qatar until his retirement from the RAF this year.

He is looking forward to debating the people’s trust in the Prime Minister with voters in Sedgefield, Co Durham, where Mr Blair has a 17,713 majority.

Group Captain Lockwood said last night: “People remember all those promises, all those words, but Mr Blair promised a new Britain. Eight years on we all know that the trust they placed in him has not been returned. As anyone who has served in the Armed Forces can tell you, that is the most damning accusation that could be levelled at any leader.

Tony Blair will be going around the country saying, ‘Give me one more chance’. We’ve heard all the talk before. We have had eight years of it. Lack of result speaks for itself.”

Mr Howard said that a Conservative Government would save regiments being cut by Labour and spend £2.7 billion more on defence than Labour.”

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