Former celebrity lawyer Bram Moszkowicz, who was disbarred in 2012 for bringing the profession into disrepute, is the new figurehead of splinter political party VoorNederland.

VNL has been formed by a number of dissident PVV parliamentarians and councillors who left the party after its leader Geert Wilders led supporters in an anti-Moroccan chant.

Moszkowicz told a news conference on Tuesday he would not have gone into politics if he had not been struck off as a lawyer and reiterated earlier claims he had done nothing wrong.

Moszkowicz, who earlier defended Wilders on racism charges, said he had a vision of the Netherlands in 25 years as ‘a land of freedom, security and prosperity’. VNL describes itself as a ‘classic liberal party’.

His appointment led one VNL founder, MP Louis Bontes, to resign, saying he did not have sufficient confidence in the direction the party is taking.