Race on to replace Tory after EDL row

Party members said Mr Amin 'jumped before he was pushed' as candidate for Dudley North, as he would have today been facing a hearing in London with his political future hanging by a thread.

Now he has stepped aside the Tory party must select a new candidate by April 9, the day nominations close for the General Election.

The Conservative opposition leader on Dudley Council, Patrick Harley, has already ruled himself out of the race insisting he would concentrate on helping Mike Wood hold on to the party's seat in Dudley South.

He said: "Afzal Amin has let himself down, he has let the party down and he has let down the volunteers who have helped him over the past two years.

"At least party members in Dudley can now get on with the task of finding a replacement and repairing the damage his actions have no doubt done."

Mr Amin, a former army officer from Smethwick, was accused of conspiring with the far-right English Defence League to announce a phoney march over long-running plans for an £18 million mosque in Dudley.

The protest, which was never intended to take place, would then be called off with the 40-year-old former army officer from Smethwick taking the credit for defusing the situation.

Mr Amin, who denied the allegations and stressed his plan was for 'very normal conflict resolution, confidence-building measures', was suspended from the party and had been due to face a Conservative committee today to explain his actions. But yesterday afternoon it was announced he had resigned as a candidate 'with immediate effect'.

Members of the Tory party in Dudley today acknowledged the clock was ticking to find an alternative candidate before nominations close. Conservative councillor Les Jones, a ward member for Pedmore and Stourbridge East, said he believed Mr Amin had no option but to resign."If it had got to the hearing I firmly believe he would have gone anyway," he said.

"It really was a case of him jumping before he was pushed. The thing I don't understand is why he didn't make this decision on Sunday morning after the news broke. This would have allowed the party to get the ball rolling in terms of finding his replacement sooner."

Councillor Jones admitted the party now faced a race against time to select a new candidate.

"In my view it is vital a new candidate is appointed this week," he said. "It has to be someone who already knows the area and its people." Dudley North MP Ian Austin, who is defending the seat, said: "His position was clearly untenable and I am pleased he has finally done the right thing by resigning. " Mike Collins, who is contesting the Dudley North seat for the Liberal Democrats, said he believed there had been no way back for Mr Amin.

UKIP's candidate for the seat, Bill Etheridge, said Mr Amin's decision to resign from the candidacy was the end of a 'sorry saga' for the Tories. "Obviously I welcome the decision. He has let himself, his party and the people of Dudley North down," he said.