THE son of a second world war hero and leading Tory industrialist who was a close friend of Margaret Thatcher is to stand for the BNP against Gordon Brown at the next election.

Michael Smith, who will be the far-right party’s candidate in the prime minister’s Kirkcaldy and Cowdenbeath constituency, is the son of Sir Alan Smith, a distinguished RAF pilot who fought alongside Douglas Bader, the legendary fighter ace.

Sir Alan, 92, who was awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross for valour, was a prominent businessman and a friend and supporter of Margaret Thatcher, the former Tory prime minister.

However, last week his son, formerly a lifelong supporter of the Tories, said he had become disillusioned with the party and would stand against Brown on an anti-immigration ticket.

“I would like the opportunity to challenge Brown on the hustings because I think the man will be found wanting,” said Smith, a farmer from Kinross.

“We are totally stigmatised as out-and-out racists. We are a small, patriotic and dedicated party and I just want the BNP to get a fair hearing. There is too much bureaucracy in politics, too much deceit and a complete lack of accountability.

“Immigration is a big issue because the numbers being let in are far too big. Europe is a drain on our resources and I just think that, overall, Labour has been pretty treacherous and they are treating us like fools.”

Smith insisted that the BNP was “misunderstood”, adding that he joined in 2006 because he was frustrated at the Tories’ inability to mount a credible opposition to Labour.

He said he was sorry his father had “become a victim of his political frustration” and that Sir Alan had been upset by his defection to the BNP, which was made public in a list of more than 12,000 BNP supporters leaked on the internet earlier this month.

“My father was shocked when I told him that I was joining the BNP but he has got used to it,” he said. “There was no alternative for me to allow me to vent my frustration with the current political climate.”

In December 1940, Sir Alan joined 616 Squadron in which he was wingman for Bader, who taught himself to fly again after losing both his legs in an aircraft crash in 1931.

Sir Alan narrowly escaped becoming a prisoner of war when a head-cold prevented him from flying with Bader on August 9, 1941.

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