A CANDIDATE for the 2004 European elections in the North-East has withdrawn - despite winning his party's bitter nomination battle.

Peter Troy won the chance to be the UK Independence Party's (Ukip) lead candidate in the elections, but stood down in the name of party unity. He is the second Ukip candidate to withdraw.

Last month, businessman Martin Cole, who lives in Switzerland, withdrew in an increasingly acrimonious feud within the regional party about alleged infiltration by British National Party members. An internal party investigation found that the claims were "groundless".

Last night Mr Troy, chairman of the party's Sedgefield branch, said: "I won by a small margin, but it is right for me to withdraw because it has been a fairly contentious contest and this is the only way for the party to unite so it can get on with its campaign.

"There was a personality clash and there was a danger the party could become polarised and no one wants that.

"I am still going to be very active within the party and the region."

But Michael Rollings, chairman of the party's North-East regional committee, which was suspended by the London headquarters, said: "There are still some outstanding issues surrounding a meteoric rise in membership in the region prior to the ballot. This rise may have been down to telephone canvassing or it may have been because of irregularities."

Ukip, which wants Britain to withdraw from the European Union, is hopeful of winning a seat in the North-East in 2004. If boundaries are unchanged, the region will return four MEPs to Brussels. Given historic voting patterns, three are likely to be Labour with the fourth being a fight between Conservative, LibDem and Ukip.

The four Ukip candidates who are standing are: John Pearson, a retired Northumberland farmer who was educated at Barnard Castle School; Charlotte Bull, a supply teacher who lives in Darlington; Tony Scholefield, an economist from London, and Cambridgeshire businessman Ian Gillman.