ALLEGATIONS of interference in Ukip candidate selection in Keighley are at the centre of a continuing row between Bradford businessman Amjad Bashir and his former party.

An investigation is currently under way into the selection of Ukip's local election candidates in the three Keighley wards at a hustings event held earlier this month.

Emails passed to the Telegraph & Argus outline how there were a dozen new membership applications at the beginning of the month, and there were question marks over a dozen new faces who appeared at the event claiming to be members. This saw complaints about "infiltration" by people not committed to Ukip and led to an internal party investigation over the selection process.

Confirmation as to who will represent Ukip in the Keighley Central, Keighley East and Keighley West seats at May's Bradford Council elections is expected in the next week.

It comes as Yorkshire and Humber MEP Mr Bashir was suspended by UKIP over allegations of a "grave nature" shortly before announcing his defection to the Conservatives on Saturday.

UKIP leader Nigel Farage said: "The final straw on Friday, was the hustings meeting that took place in West Yorkshire where gerrymandering appears to have taken place."

When Mr Bashir's denials were put to him Mr Farage added: "He can deny that, but I tell you what he can't deny and that's his continuing association with political extremists from Pakistan despite us saying please, please, keep away.

"Whichever way we look at this, he had reached the end of the road with us, he knew that."

Mr Farage expressed his surprise that the Conservative Party had accepted him, but Chancellor George Osborne yesterday insisted he was "not aware" of any reason why the Tories should have turned Mr Bashir away.

Mr Bashir has dismissed his former party's move as a "desperate attempt" to smear him to distract from the news of his decision to join the Conservatives and said there was "not a shred of truth" to the claims.

Meanwhile Respect MP George Galloway has also claimed that Mr Bashir once joined his party, but was de-selected as a candidate for Bradford Moor prior to the council elections in May 2012 after concerns were raised about his fitness to stand.

The Bradford West MP would not specify what the issues were, "but they were sufficiently grave to make us realise that he was not a fit and proper person to represent Respect. Clearly both UKIP and the Tories have lower standards," he said.

Mr Galloway has also tabled a parliamentary motion calling on the Government and Conservatives "to declare to the voters of Yorkshire and the Humber that Amjad Bashir's relentless party switching and misrepresentation of his past makes him unfit to represent them, whatever party's colours he temporarily wears".