A MAN barred from standing as a Labour councillor after writing a controversial letter to the Worcester News has voiced his anger over the Government's leadership crisis.

Peter Neilsen has launched an attack on West Bromwich East Labour MP Tom Watson, the man who was behind the campaign to end Tony Blair's premiership.

After signing a round-robin two weeks ago calling on Mr Blair to resign now, rather than bow out some time next year, he himself resigned.

In 2002, Mr Neilsen was deselected from standing as a Labour candidate in the Worcester Claines seat after writing a letter to the Worcester News which suggested there was in-fighting within New Labour.

At that time, Mr Watson, who grew up in Kidderminster, was a member of the Labour Party regional executive and he voted against Mr Neilsen's suitability as a candidate for the local elections in May 2002.

He said that a letter written by Mr Neilsen and published by the Worcester News indicated a split within the party.

Mr Nielsen, who now lives in Denmark and has since given up his membership of the Labour Party, says it was hypocritical of the Labour Party to have booted him out - only to be at war with each other four years down the line. He said: "The decision of the panel was that my axeing was justified because of the letter I wrote to the Worcester News - that it would "hamper other Labour candidates in Worcester" as it indicated "splits within the party".

"Mr Watson set a high standard of party unity for himself in judging me. If you pardon the mixed metaphor, Mr Watson seems to have shot himself in the foot by stabbing Blair in the back."

Mr Watson - who has failed to return calls from the Worcester News - has since quit the Government himself.

He resigned as junior defence minister just before the Prime Minister could sack him.

Worcester Labour Party has sought to calm the situation by saying that in 2002 Mr Watson had followed the rules.