Race row Tory 'won't be silenced'

A Tory councillor who has said there is "nothing wrong with racism" today defied Iain Duncan Smith to sack him and said he would not be silenced.

The stand by Graham Sampson, a recently elected member of Wealden District Council in Sussex, is a direct challenge to the Tory leader, who only last week sacked shadow minister Ann Winterton for making a racist joke.

The Sussex University professor says efforts to encourage a shared culture are "wicked madness" and writes of "overwhelming scientific evidence" that intelligence levels differ according to race.

He said today: "It is not part of the academic profession to believe things are true but refrain from saying them because they are rather awkward."

The Conservative Party has said it will be holding an inquiry.