The UK Independence Party is planning to field a number of candidates in Dover and Deal at the county council elections - and one has already been named.

Former News of the World journalist Paul McMullan (pictured above), who was among those who gave evidence to the Leveson Inquiry on phone-hacking allegations, is to stand for one of the Dover seats at the election on May 2.

He has also been appointed as the press officer for the Dover and Deal branch of UKIP, and says he would be interested in eventually standing for the European Parliament.

Mr McMullan, who is 45, says he was inspired to put himself forward as a UKIP candidate by two events.

The first was the fact that three months ago his 80-year-old mother, who likes making jam, was among those affected by the new law from Europe saying she could not re-use jam jars.

“There has to come a time when enough is enough,” said Mr McMullan, who runs the Castle Inn and backpackers hostel in Russell Street, Dover.

“The fact that 300 people who get paid £90,000 a year can come up with that law, costing millions to implement, is a complete waste.”

His second motivation was watching Diane James, the UKIP candidate who beat the Tory candidate in the Eastleigh by-election, when she appeared on the BBC television programme Question Time which was broadcast from Dover Cruise Terminal on Thursday.

“I believe I can win in Dover,” he said. “I think the protest vote will continue to that election.

“I am not anti-European,” he said. “Part of my business is running a youth hostel and at the moment I have French, German, American and Australian people staying here.

“They all come to experience British culture at its best and to stay in an historic British inn.”

Mr McMullan, who moved to this area after playing golf at Deal, bought the Castle Inn two and a half years ago when it had been closed for two years and was a shell and he has invested more than £200,000 in it. Refurbishment work is still going on, and he hopes to reap the rewards of his efforts this summer by attracting more people to stay there.

And he can’t wait to see work start on the Dover Town Investment Zone redevelopment which is due to take place in the St James’ area right next to the inn.

By then, he hopes, he will have been elected as a councillor and will be able to help spearhead the future renegeration of Dover - and take the UK out of Europe.