EIGHT councillors have been summonsed to court for non-payment of council tax over the past two years, it has been revealed.

They include former council leader David Green and former Lord Mayor of Bradford Naveeda Ikram.

The information, revealed by Bradford Council under the Freedom of Information Act, shows Cllr Green was sent reminder letters in April 2014 and May 2014, before being sent a summons for £1,169 in June 2014.

Cllr Green said the amount owed had only been around £100, but the authority's summons was for the full year's council tax.

He said he was "not going to go into the reasons, because they are personal", but that as soon as he received the letter he paid the bill and set up a Direct Debit for future payments.

Councillor Arshad Hussain (Lab, Toller) was sent a summons in August 2015, when he was on the council's decision-making Executive, the data shows. He could not be reached for comment.

Councillor Naveeda Ikram (Little Horton), who is currently suspended from Labour while a separate issue is investigated, said she had missed paying her council tax because she had changed bank accounts, causing an error with her Direct Debit.

She said once she found out, she made arrangements to pay "straight away".

Councillor Mark Shaw (Con, Bingley) was sent a summons for non-payment of council tax three times: in June 2014, July 2014 and June 2015. He declined to comment.

Councillor Abid Hussain (Lab, Keighley Central), a former deputy Lord Mayor, was sent a summons in June 2014 and again in June 2015. He said his council tax was now "up to date".

He said: "I have a duty to pay council tax and everything has been sorted out."

Former Lib Dem councillor for Eccleshill, Ann Wallace, was sent a summons for non-payment in the year 2014-15.

She said: "Councillors are just normal people. We all have problems. We all get forgetful.

"They just have the word 'councillor' in front of their names."

She said she was "all paid up - and that's what it should be".

Councillor Tess Peart (Lab, Tong) was sent a summons in May 2015 and June 2015. She could not be reached for comment.

Councillor Lynne Smith, who died after a long battle with cancer last month, was sent a summons in August 2014, the data shows.

The records reveal that a further three councillors were sent reminder letters after falling behind with payments.

Cllr Mike Ellis (Con, Bingley Rural) was sent a reminder once in January 2015 and again in August 2015.

He said he was embarrassed by the situation, adding: "It is totally unacceptable."

Councillor John Pennington (Con, Bingley) was sent a reminder letter in August 2015.

He said: "I forgot to pay it one month, just through pressure of work, to be honest with you.

"As soon as I got a reminder, I paid up."

And Councillor Paul Cromie (Ind, Queensbury) was sent reminder letters in November and December of 2015.

He said it had been "just an oversight on my part" and was now paid, adding that the bill had been for a rental property of his, rather than his primary home.

Under local authority rules, councillors cannot be in arrears by more than two months if taking part in the budget-setting process.

But no councillors were exempt from taking part in this year's budget meeting, the records show.

A landmark ruling earlier this year paved the way for councillors who fail to pay their council tax to be named by the press.

Last year, the Telegraph & Argus asked for the names of local councillors who had not paid their council tax or had fallen behind with payments, under a Freedom of Information request.

At the time, Bradford Council refused to reveal these names, or the parties the councillors belonged to, and only gave the number of elected officials affected.

But since then, a tribunal judgement about a similar request made by a newspaper in Bolton ruled that local authorities should reveal the names of elected officials who have not paid council tax.

Upper Tribunal judge Kate Markus QC ruled in March that while tax affairs were private, “a councillor’s default in paying council tax is a serious matter of public concern, both as to the ability of the councillor to perform his key functions and in terms of public confidence and accountability”.

She said a councillor “should expect to be scrutinised as to, and accountable for, his actions”.

As a result of this ruling, Bradford Council has since released the information.