KEIGHLEY Town Council has voted to apologise for instances where it has "fallen short of standards" and has agreed to accept the findings of a highly critical external auditors' report.

The council met in Keighley Town Hall for an often heated extraordinary general meeting (EGM) to respond to the audit into the council's 2012/13 accounts.

Members voted overwhelmingly in favour of a proposal which thanked the people who had objected to the accounts and also apologised to the electors of Keighley parish.

They also agreed to set in motion steps by the council's own finance and audit committee to comply with a series of remedial recommendations made by the auditors – London accountancy firm PKF Littlejohn.

The auditor's public interest report, which was considered yesterday evening, highlighted a long list of weaknesses including councillors not following their own financial regulations, not ensuring payments were properly authorised and failing to put in place an adequate business plan for the controversial civic centre project.

Addressing councillors and a group of about 20 members of the public at the EGM, Keighley mayor Council Graham Mitchell said: "No one has ever sat in a committee here or in full council and said, 'let's do this because we know it's dodgy.'

"The errors that were made were never intentional or deliberate. Some very personal things have been said on social networking sites about members of this council and about the council as a whole. Most of those things are unwarranted."

Coun Mitchell repeatedly called for order during the meeting, amidst interruptions from some members of the public, and also clashed with town councillor Ron Beale who was one of the people who had objected to the 2013/13 accounts.

Ingrow resident Elizabeth Mitchell, of parishioners campaign group Cavetown Council, spoke during part of the meeting allocated to public participation.

She renewed her call for councillors who were members of the council's management and staffing committee between June 2012 and March 2013 to resign and handed a petition to this effect to deputy mayor Coun Javaid Akhtar.

"I want to know if councillors are taking this auditors' Report in the Public Interest seriously, because it doesn't feel like it to us," she said.

"Two years ago when this council would not listen to us, I rang the Audit Commission and was told that Reports in the Public Interest were very serious, and usually resulted in resignations."

Coun Mitchell emphasised that the auditors had not uncovered any evidence of criminality, while councillors Peter Corkindale, Tony Wright and Brian Morris defended the council's record.

Coun Corkindale condemned what he described as the "histrionics" of a small number of critics of the council, adding that the North Street Civic Centre is now a vibrant, well-used building, instead of being allowed to become neglected and derelict.

But councillors John Kirby, Gary Pedley and Amjad Zaman said mistakes had been made which needed to be put right.

Coun Pedley said the blame for the £73,000 auditors' bill should not be directed at the people who objected to the town council's accounts. "It's our fault that it's cost £73,000," he said. "Don't blame the complainant if you're guilty."