COMMUNITIES across the district must unite in the face of global terrorism, division and hatred, a full meeting of Bradford Council heard.

Councillors from all parties unanimously agreed to write in solidarity to civic leaders in Paris, Peshawar in Pakistan and Baga in Nigeria, which have all been targeted by Islamist terrorists in recent weeks.

And the council chamber held a minute's silence in memory of those killed in the attacks.

The meeting heard from Keighley West Labour councillor Adrian Farley, who with fellow Bradford councillor Alex Ross-Shaw recently led a delegation to Srebrenica in Bosnia and Herzegovina to mark the 20th anniversary of the genocide which saw more than 8,000 Muslim men and boys killed by Serbian nationalist forces.

Cllr Farley said they had met with "the women who survived the genocide as their husbands and sons were led away for execution".

Council leader, Cllr David Green, said this demonstrated how important it was for communities to resist becoming divided.

He said: "We have seen what happens, we have heard from the speeches on Srebrenica, what happens when people get pushed into these camps."

Bingley Rural councillor Simon Cooke, deputy leader of the Conservative group, urged his fellow councillors to reflect on their own views and ensure they always strongly condemned anyone who committed violence.

He said: "It's right that we should expunge hate, but I think we should all examine our own consciences when we think what we think and we say what we say."