SIR NICHOLAS Winterton believes a "mafia" of young Tories who support David Cameron are pursuing a campaign against him.

The Macclesfield MP insists he will stand at the next election despite comments that were leaked at the weekend suggesting that Conservative party leader Mr Cameron wants him sacked.

A defiant Sir Nick told the Express: "In some quarters there is a group of people who want to see the back of me and Ann (his wife, the MP for Congleton).  They may well be David Cameron’s sort of mafia that you get around a leader."

In an exclusive interview, he described the onslaught as an "illegal ageist campaign".

"If David Cameron hasn’t got the courage to speak to me personally then I don’t think that reflects very well on him," Sir Nick said. "If I hadn’t got his backing, I’d have thought he would have said so to me directly."

Later, he said the suggestions were an "insult" to Mr Cameron, with whom he retained a "totally agreeable relationship".

He suspects young unelected advisors – who he called "peddlers of lies" – of leaking the latest embarrassing comments to the Mail on Sunday.

The paper quoted an unnamed official who said Mr Cameron wanted the Wintertons out because they were a link to the "sleaze" Tory past – from which the young leader is determined to break free.

But Sir Nick, who was found to have unwittingly broken Parliamentary expenses rules by a standards committee last month, said: "This campaign makes me all the more determined and many of my constituents said to me just at the weekend that I must tough this out and stand again.

"I have been reselected by the local association to be Conservative candidate at the next election and that is my intention."

He would not be seeking a clear-the-air meeting with Mr Cameron, he said.

"We had a very agreeable meeting in February where I said I would have to await the outcome of this report (from the Parliamentary standards committee). As far as I am concerned the matter is now behind us. I spoke to him in the last week and he came into the House and nodded to me agreeing with the question I put. I can assure you there has been no approach, no comment and nothing said to me about being asked not to stand."

He said he had been re-elected to a number of House of Commons committees in recent weeks and remained one of the most active members of Parliament.

Madge Slater, chairwoman of Macclesfield Conservative Association, said: "There is no movement whatsoever from the grass roots here to usurp Sir Nicholas Winterton.

"We want him to be our MP into the next Parliament."

A spokesman for Conservative Central Office said: "It isn’t something we get involved in. They are on the approved candidates list and put themselves forward and the local association will chose their candidate."

No one from David Cameron’s office was available for comment as the Express went to press.