The row over public involvement in the Bingley Town Centre Partnership has taken another twist after its chairman, Shipley MP Chris Leslie, was excluded from a meeting.

The partnership, which holds meetings in private, has been dogged by criticism that it is unaccountable and secretive.

At its meeting in June - to which the Telegraph & Argus was invited - Mr Leslie called for a public meeting following pressure from the Better Bingley Campaign (BBC) for greater accountability and press access.

At that meeting one of the group's key members, Inspector David Drucquer of Bingley Police, walked out saying "a can of worms'' had been opened, but Mr Leslie said a public meeting would be held on September 14.

Now Councillor David Herdson (Con, Shipley West), chairman of Bradford Council's Shipley Community Area Panel, has stopped the event after informally meeting with partnership members who he said were against the idea.

Mr Leslie is furious neither he nor the BBC's acting chairman Donald Wood were invited to the informal meeting.

The Labour MP said: "To exclude your main political opponent and anyone else whose views you disagree with is wrong. It's divisive and smacks of dictatorship rather than partnership.

"In June we made a decision to have a public meeting. It was put twice to the meeting and there was no dissent. This just makes me even more determined to have one although it now looks like I'll have to organise it myself.''

Councillor Herdson said he had wanted to gauge the views of partnership members on the proposal for a public meeting and was already aware of Mr Leslie and the BBC's opinion.

He said: "It wasn't a meeting of the partnership and the point was to find out people's views.

"In June there was no vote taken on whether there should be a public meeting and to say there was no dissent is rubbish - Inspector Drucquer walking out was probably the most dramatic expression of dissent a partnership meeting has ever seen.''

Eileen Sinclair, who represented Bingley Voluntary Action at Councillor Herdson's meeting, said: "I was surprised to find they hadn't been invited. The whole thing's a storm in a tea cup but now it's in the public domain I think there should be a public meeting to clear the air."