A BUSINESSMAN and former candidate for the European elections has been petitioned for bankruptcy by the Inland Revenue.

Peter Troy, chairman of the Darlington branch of the Federation of Small Businesses, has had a bankruptcy order served on him at the High Court of Justice in London.

The divorced father-of-two, of Sedgefield, County Durham, has worked for the federation for more than ten years.

Last year, he was the lead candidate for the UK Independence Party (Ukip) in the Euro elections in Scotland and has also been a campaign manager for three constituencies in the North-East.

A bankruptcy order detailing his name and address has already appeared in the classified section of The Northern Echo, a requirement by law, where his occupation is listed as a recruiter operating from an unknown address.

The order is being handled by the official receiver in Thornaby, Teesside.

A spokeswoman for Government News Network, which represents the insolvency service, said the case had been transferred from London's High Court to Middlesbrough County Court.

She confirmed the petition was not voluntary and had been instigated by the Inland Revenue, one of the creditors, but said no financial details were available at the present time.

Mr Troy is also chairman of the Sedgefield and Darlington branch of Ukip, which he joined in 1998.

The businessman told The Northern Echo last night: "The situation goes back to a heart attack I had three years ago - that is very much the cause of the problem.

"I have been self-employed since 1986 and it has had a knock-on effect. Here is a problem and it is a question of working through it with the Inland Revenue."

He said it would not affect his position with the Federation of Small Businesses.

Mr Troy pulled out of the 2004 European elections in the North-East, despite winning his party's nomination battle. He said at the time he had withdrawn in the name of party unity.

It followed a feud within the regional party about alleged infiltration by British National Party members.

An internal investigation found the claims were 'groundless' but revealed Mr Troy had paid Ukip membership fees for British National Party activist Trevor Agnew, of Darlington.

Mr Agnew, who was expelled from Ukip in 1999 because of his links with the extremist BNP, said he had received a membership card for the party in the post "out of the blue".

A spokesman for the Inland Revenue said: "We do not discuss individual cases."