DAVID Ward is still a member of the Liberal Democrat group on Bradford Council, it has emerged, despite leader Tim Farron’s insistence that he is “unfit to represent the party” over allegations of anti-Semitism.

Mr Farron sacked the former Bradford East MP as a Parliamentary candidate and suspended him from the party last month, pending an investigation.

And Cllr Ward, now a councillor for Bolton and Undercliffe, has since decided to stand against the party as an independent in the General Election.

But in an apparent act of defiance, Councillor Jeanette Sunderland, the leader of the Liberal Democrat group on Bradford Council, has said he will remain a member of her Council group until any wrongdoing is proven.

She said: “Cllr David Ward is a member of our group. He remains innocent until proven otherwise, at which point the Council group will revisit the matter.”

Cllr Ward said it was entirely possible for him to be an independent councillor and a member of the Liberal Democrat group at the same time.

The leader of the Conservative group, Councillor Simon Cooke, said the local Lib Dems appeared at odds with their leadership and described it as “a very murky situation”.

Cllr Cooke said Cllr Ward's status was important as the size of political groups determined how many seats they got on committees.

He said: “If Cllr Ward is a Liberal councillor, the Liberal group have the correct number of members on the various committees et cetera, which is a legal requirement, but if he is not, the Liberal group is over represented on the committee structure.”

Cllr Sunderland hit back, saying: “Perhaps the Conservative leader should concentrate more on the issues that face Bradford than try to grab another place on a committee.”

The national Liberal Democrat party did not respond to requests for a comment.

Meanwhile, Cllr Ward has said he was left “furious” after receiving a letter confirming a school governing body’s decision to bar him from being a governor due to the furore.

Cllr Ward was blocked from sitting on the board of governors at Hanson School in Swain House earlier this month.

Bradford Council chiefs wrote to him saying they agreed he should not be a governor as it “could create an unnecessary distraction at such a critical point in the school’s progress toward stability” and urged him to accept the decision for the good of the school.

But Cllr Ward described the situation as “McCarthyism”, adding: “I will not let this rest.”

MORE ELECTION NEWS FROM BRADFORD EAST