I WISH to thank the Evening Press and your reporters for the excellent opportunity you afforded each candidate to put their case in the run up to the General Election.

Unfortunately it makes it all the more hard for me to accept that my vision of the United Kingdom being a free, independent and proud nation has been so comprehensively rejected.

I should also like to thank all those who gave me such tremendous help and the voters who supported me.

Stephen Feaster,

UK Independence Party,

Cropton, Pickering

Updated: 10:39 Wednesday, June 20, 2001