A Keighley town councillor was removed from all three of his council committee posts in a vote by his fellow members of the town council.

Councillor Brian Hudson was ousted from the planning, general purposes and allotments committees after he was accused of breaking council rules by leaking confidential financial documents to the Keighley News.

A separate proposal to remove Coun Geraldine Stack from the finance committee for breaching the same confidentiality rules was withdrawn, after the council was told she had already resigned from this committee.

At the start of the meeting, town mayor Coun George Metcalf said he was not happy with an article in last week’s Keighley News in which the two councillors claimed they were the victims of a “witch hunt” and a “dictatorship”.

Coun Metcalf said: “Any organisation you want to join has some form of basic rules and laws to ensure the organisation runs smoothly and in good order. It’s not a witch hunt, it’s not a dictatorship and it’s not rocket science. If you can’t keep to the rules then don’t join the club.”

Coun Hudson responded that the town council was now effectively run by a “secret society”, which does not want him to tell the truth. He confirmed he had passed the Keighley News civic centre financial figures, and said the council had a duty to be open and honest with the people who elected it.

Coun Maureen Hudson, who is Coun Brian Hudson’s wife, abstained in the vote and said she wanted to resign from her two posts on the general purposes and planning committees.

Councillors voted in favour of a recommendation to give the town council more control over its £10,000 grant to the Keighley Town Centre Association. (KTCA) The proposal was put forward by finance committee chairman Coun John Philip.

It stated that the funds would still be available but on the condition that they be spent on business support, marketing and events and not on the KTCA newsletter.

The same recommendation also stressed that the town council would expect to see project proposals for the use of the funds and would like a meeting arranged to discuss the council’s membership of the KTCA.