Beatrix von Storch. | Patrick Seeger/EPA Far-right German MEP: ‘I’m going nowhere’ Alternative for Germany pair were asked to leave ECR, and claim they already have offers to join other groups.

A far-right German MEP who was asked to leave the European Conservatives and Reformists group said she had already been approached by other groups, but had no intention of joining them.

The ECR group on Tuesday kicked out Beatrix von Storch and Marcus Pretzell of the Alternative for Germany (AfD) party because, according to sources, of comments made by von Storch and party leader Frauke Petry about shooting refugees.

On Wednesday, von Storch told POLITICO there were already other options for her within the European Parliament.

"Following rumors of our expulsion, it was normal that other groups would come to us to talk about our common future,” she said. Marine Le Pen's Europe of Nations and Freedom, and Nigel Farage's Europe of Freedom and Direct Democracy are believed to be the most likely destinations.

But she said she was going nowhere: “I will stay at the ECR.”

A statement from the ECR on Tuesday said the AfD MEPs had been “invited” to leave the group before March 31, “otherwise a motion will be tabled to expel them at its next meeting,” on April 12.

But von Stroch contested this, saying a motion to exclude the AfD MEPs “was not followed by a majority of members, and was withdrawn by the bureau to avoid losing face.”

She said the ECR’s “biased presentation of the facts” was planned to “upset” the AFD, “which is set to win important regional elections on Sunday.”

“Five days from regional elections in Germany, this U-turn is no longer surprising,” she said.

Olaf Henkel, a German MEP and former AfD member, told POLITICO that the “von Storch reaction looks like an application to be in the UKIP group,” adding that “either they [von Storch and Pretzell] are mad, have given up or they just want to impress Farage.”

UKIP on Wednesday denied that any new members were joining the EFDD group.

Another German member of the ECR group, Bernd Lucke, told German broadcaster ARD that close ties between AfD and the far-right Austrian Freedom Party were in part to blame for the ECR's decision. He said this was "unacceptable" to the group.

Lucke was a founding member of AfD but left the party in 2015 after losing a leadership race to Petry. He then founded the Alliance for Progress and Renewal. Henkel later joined Lucke's new party.

British Conservative MEPs have sought to distance themselves from the AfD.

Tory MEP Ashley Fox said "it has become clear that we and the AfD are traveling in different political directions. Several comments and actions are not consistent with our core values of freedom, respect and equality for all EU countries. Therefore, we think it's best if we go our separate ways."

The AfD has been polling strongly ahead of Sunday's votes in Baden-Württemberg, Saxony-Anhalt and Rhineland-Palatinate, and is on course to overtake the Social Democrats in second place in the latter.

It already holds seats in three out of 16 German regional parliaments (Brandenburg, Saxony and Thuringia), though it is not part of any regional government.