A SENIOR member of the Labour Party in the troubled Bradford West constituency has been suspended by the Party.

Paul Meszaros, who has been acting chairman of the Bradford West Constituency Labour Party, has been suspended following a complaint which has not been made public.

It is understood the suspension prevents him from standing for positions within the Party, although he remains a Party member.

Mr Meszaros, 52, who works for Bradford East MP Imran Hussain as a parliamentary assistant and has been a Party member for more than a decade, said he was confident he would be exonerated, although he did not know the detail of the complaint.

In a statement, he said: "I have received a letter from the Labour Party informing me that, due to a complaint, I have been administratively suspended.

"This is a standard procedure, it's not indefinite and I am able to attend Labour Party meetings.

"I don't know the detail of the complaint at this time but I'm absolutely confident that I will be entirely exonerated and I will co-operate fully with the Labour Party to bring a swift resolution to this spurious claim.

"It is disappointing that once again internal Labour Party matters have been leaked to the Press and at this point we can only speculate at the motives and intentions of those behind it."

A Labour party spokesman said: "Paul Meszaros has been suspended by the Labour Party pending an investigation."

Mr Meszaros' suspension comes just weeks after the Labour Party's ruling executive took over candidate selection in six Bradford West council wards.

A panel of the National Executive Committee will decided local election candidates in May's elections, rather than being chosen by rank-and-file members.

That decision was strongly criticised at the time by Mr Meszaros who said he was "mystified and disgusted" by the move, saying it wasn't democratic.

The Party said it had taken action in Bradford West after receiving "allegations surrounding the process of selecting candidates" in wards in the constituency.

The nature of the allegations has not been revealed.

Bradford West Labour MP Naz Shah has supported the Party's decision to step in.