I REFER to your article (June 1) by Alan Gregory regarding the defection of Roger Knapman from the Conservatives to the United Kingdom Independence party, I am somewhat bemused by the reported comments from Mark Slater (Tory Party agent for this constituency) stating that 'splitting the anti-European Union vote could lead to a victory for the forces of federalism'.

Mr Slater knows only too well that his Conservative Party has already given away most of our nation's ability to govern itself, by signing up to the Treaty of Rome, the single market and most damaging of all the Maastricht Treaty.

In this last document almost every clause is referred to as either being 'irreversible' or 'irrevocable'. This is not the language of a democracy.

His present party leader (William Hague) is a president of honour of the London Europe Society and European Luncheon club where he socialises with other federalist presidents of the society who include Tony Blair, Paddy Ashdown, Pauline Green, Lord Hattersley, Edward Heath and Lord Geoffrey Howe.

It is an old but true saying that you can tell more about the true nature of a man by the company he keeps than by what he says.

The Conservative Members of the European Parliament have for many years sat with the most federalist group in Brussels. The European People's Party (EPP). Clause 219 of the EPP's manifesto reads as follows: 'The EPP strongly reaffirms the federative version of the Christian Democrat pioneers of Europe, which stresses that the federal goal of European integration must be explicitly included in the Treaty on European Union'.

I think that Mr Slater should be reminded that all Conservative candidates standing in lead positions in last year's European elections were pro-European Union, and the majority of them in favour of Britain signing up to the Euro.

Whereas UKIP wants to see Britain's withdrawal from the EU, and the negotiation of free trade agreements with all the free nations of the world, including the European Union, the three main parties are all in favour of governmental control from Brussels and differ only in the method and speed of achieving this.

There is therefore no question of splitting the anti-federalist vote. A vote for UKIP is a vote for returning to democratic government by directly elected politicians in Westminster. A vote for any of the other main parties is a vote for government by 20 unelected (appointed) Commissioners in Brussels, 18 of whom do not have Britain's interests at heart.

David Johnson

Acting chairman

UK Independence Party

6 Fairwau

Appledore