Europhobes conjure up a demon Paddy

EU commissioner Padraig Flynn is the new bogey man of the right- wing press

The xenophobes in Britain's right-wing newspapers have been pining for a proper hate figure in Brussels since the departure of Jacques Delors, who in his heyday could command the entire front page of The Sun. They may have found what they were looking for.

Padraig Flynn, the flamboyant figure charged with framing the EU's social policy, seems to be the man of the hour. For a start, he is an outspoken critic of Britain's opt-out from the Maastricht Treaty's social provisions. He is also one of the authors of the law setting a maximum 48-hour working week, one of the Government's pet hates, and on which the European Court of Justice will rule next Tuesday. And for the simple-minded xenophobes, the best bit is: he's Irish.

Last month Mr Flynn was dubbed "the Brussels bigmouth" by The Daily Mail after calling for an end to the British opt-out. The Telegraph poked fun at his Irish accent and turns of phrase when he launched an initiative to stamp out sexual harassment in the workplace.

Yesterday Mr Flynn decided to take The Daily Mail to court following a vitriolic personal attack last week which branded him incompetent, bigoted and tainted by corruption. It was an extraordinary tirade of racist abuse, which contained offensive if predictable anti-Irish references to pigs, potatoes, priests and the IRA. The Daily Mail denounced Mr Flynn for his work in Brussels under the headline "This man comes from a world of farm subsidies and corruption. Now he wants to destroy Britain's economic success".

The Daily Mail's writer asked how Mr Flynn could understand the economics of the free market. He comes from Castlebar in the west of Ireland which we are told is "an enclosed world of cattle markets, farm subsidies and generally tolerated rural corruption". The people of Castlebar would no more apply the social chapter locally than obey an extradition warrant for the handover of an IRA prisoner to the British the diatribe continues.

Mr Flynn's career as a senior government minister in Ireland is cited to highlight his alleged incompetence. "Nothing in his own political background has prepared him for the responsibilities he now occupies."

The only specific charges levelled at him by Daily Mail columnist Bruce Anderson, Flynn rejects. One is an allegation that he "suppressed" an internal report because it suggested that high rates of worker protection might be to blame in countries which are unsuccessful at creating jobs. Mr Flynn denies he suppressed anything. The report will be published next week, although its conclusions will be toned down.

Mr Flynn's aides admit there is an ongoing debate in the Commission over the effects of regulation in the workplace. But to suggest there has been a cover-up of evidence is "laughable". The other charge - that he is trying to bring in a minimum wage - is dismissed as ill-informed nonsense. "The Commission has no powers to set wages," a spokesman said.

If he was distressed by the personal and bigoted nature of The Daily Mail's attack, Mr Flynn should be bracing himself for more. John Major is contemplating defeat in next week's ruling on the 48 hour maximum working week. If he loses, he has pledged an all-out campaign against social policy in the Inter-Governmental Conference on EU reform. There is a campaign to demonise Mr Flynn and paint him as a regulator intent on dismantling British competitiveness ahead of the verdict.

Irish officials in Brussels seem resigned to the racist backlash which seems part of the latest wave of anti-Europe hysteria from London."They can't seem to cope with the idea of policy for Britain being handled by some Paddy," said one official.