THE daughter of the late EastEnders' star Mike Reid has pulled out of standing as a British National Party candidate in Essex - but the party said last night it had nothing to do with fears she would be branded “a Nazi”.

Annie Davidson

THE daughter of the late EastEnders' star Mike Reid has pulled out of standing as a British National Party candidate in Essex - but the party said last night it had nothing to do with fears she would be branded “a Nazi”.

Angela Reid, of Braintree, had entered herself as a candidate in the district council's by-election on October 2 in the hope of winning the Witham West seat.

But yesterday it was revealed the 50-year-old had decided to withdraw, officially informing the council just over an hour before the deadline for pulling out. It is too late for the BNP to enter another candidate in her place.

A man who said he was Mrs Reid's husband explained yesterday that she was “not living” at the home in Braintree where she was registered as a candidate.

He said she was withdrawing because she was worried about being branded “a Nazi”.

He added: “She has cancelled her candidacy because she's Mike Reid's daughter and people would call her a Nazi and slag her off.”

But Simon Darby, deputy leader of the British National Party, denied this was the case and she was still a paid up member of the British National Party.

He said: “It's got nothing to do with politics, she is adamant about that. She is still a member and still agrees with everything we stand for, it's personal circumstances, family circumstances that have come up.

“She feels she is not capable of taking on the extra responsibility being a councillor entails. It is really bad timing.

“She is very apologetic but there is no need for her to be, there are always things you do not have control over.

“I've just come off the phone to her and she is adamant that she's committed to the party's platform, it's not a question of politics.

“She is angry about a lot of things people are - overcrowding in this country, the country being run by a European federalist government, the amount of tax we have to pay, the fact the economy is taking a nosedive and the amount of crime.”

Mr Darby hailed Mrs Reid as an “excellent candidate with a lot to say about where this country is going wrong” when he revealed on his blog earlier this week that she was standing in a local by-election.

Mr Darby said he was unsure whether or not Angela's father, funnyman Mike Reid, had shared his daughter's political views before his unexpected death last year.

He said: “Obviously he was an extremely popular bloke, he was a household name. It would not be fair to comment further because I do not know.”

Mrs Reid's father shot to stardom playing car dealer Frank Butcher in the BBC1 soap EastEnders after working as a stuntman, starring in The Comedians in the 1970s, hosting ITV children's quiz show Runaround, and appearing in Doctor Who and Minder.

The 67-year-old comic died of a heart attack in July last year just weeks after doctors had given him a clean bill of health during a medical.

He was living in Marbella with his wife Shirley, 69, at the time of his death and working on a feature film. They also had a house in Great Easton, near Dunmow.

Braintree MP Brooks Newmark said he did not believe local people “would support policies with the beliefs they (the BNP) have.”

Graham Butler, leader of the district council, added: “I disagree with what they put forward and their arguments but the only way we will defeat them is by the democratic process.”

Mrs Reid was unable to be contacted for a comment at her home or at the shoe shop which she ran in Chelmsford which has closed for business in the past few months.

Had she continued with her candidacy, she would have gone up against political candidates representing the Conservatives, Liberal Democrats, Labour and Green parties in the by-election, called after a councillor resigned.