A Wirral Euro MP has reacted with anger at the sudden cancellation of a proposed public meeting next week.

The heavily advertised forum was due to take place next Thursday, March 5, at the Arrowe Park Hotel, but yesterday the hotel management pulled the plug.

"This is completely out of order and smacks of a deliberate attempt to stifle our message to voters on the Wirral," said UKIP MEP Paul Nuttall, the party's deputy leader.

He said he suspected a "dirty tricks" campaign by political opponents.

Wirral UKIP branch chairman, Phil Griffiths, received a phone call "out of the blue" from hotel management on Tuesday saying that the booking for the upstairs function room had been taken in error.

He said he was told there was a regular booking for that room each Thursday and also that they do not take bookings from political organisations.

The meeting was to be addressed by Mr Nuttall and UKIP's four candidates for the borough's parliamentary constituencies.

"It strikes me that the hotel may have been got at by Labour supporters who are keenly challenging Esther McVey in this marginal West Wirral constituency," said Mr Nuttall.

"Labour are running scared of UKIP because they know quite well that they are losing votes to us as more and more long time supporters are becoming disillusioned with their policies and attitude.

"It could be someone is trying to gag us and sabotage our plans for the Wirral - but voters will see through any dirty trick campaigns against us.

"I find it hard to accept the hotel's explanation as they were told when the booking was made last year that it was a UKIP public meeting and when the £70 deposit was paid mid-December it was with a UKIP cheque," he added.

Brewer Greene King, which owns the Arrowe Park Hotel, has apologised for the inconvenience caused by the late cancellation and said it will be reviewing the pub's  booking process.