Tim Yeo Deselected: Is MP a Victim of the 'Green Crap' Purge?

Veteran Conservative MP Tim Yeo has been dropped by his constituency party, the safe seat of South Suffolk.

The decision was made by the South Suffolk Conservative Association in a secret ballot. Yeo has been the local MP for 30 years.

Yeo, a former environment minister in John Major's government, is an outspoken supporter of renewable energy and often clashes with his Conservative colleagues over climate change.

David Cameron is said to be cooling on his government's championing of climate change issues. He was recently quoted as demanding that "the green crap" be dropped by his administration.

In June Yeo was caught up in a Sunday Times sting and faced allegations that he offered to lobby ministers and 'coached' a business associate who was due to give evidence to his committee. He stood down temporarily from his position as chairman of the Energy and Climate Change Committee while the allegations were investigated by the Parliamentary Commissioner for Standards.

The committee cleared him of wrongdoing and he returned to his post last month.

In a statement, the association said Yeo was "now considering his position and will advise the executive council of his intended course of action". Tensions between the MP and the local party over the amount of work he put in at grassroots level has also been mooted as a cause of tension.

Yeo is no stranger to controversy. He was forced to resign from the Major government in 1994 after an extra-marital affair.