A LIBERAL Democrat councillor says he is considering his future with the party over its expulsion of former MP David Ward.

Councillor Michael Stelling (Lib Dem, Bolton and Undercliffe) said the party’s treatment of Mr Ward had been “unjustified and has broken the values the party holds on freedom of speech”.

He said he was “still considering” his future with the party and that he was now in “a long, drawn-out process” but declined to reveal any further details about this.

Mr Ward, a former MP for Bradford East and an outspoken critic of Israel, was sacked as a candidate in this year’s General Election after then-leader Tim Farron accused him of making “anti-Semitic” comments and being “unfit to represent the party”.

Mr Ward, who strongly denies accusations of anti-Semitism, has since been told that it was not Mr Farron, but the chairman of the party’s English Candidates Committee, Prue Bray, who dismissed him.

In an email to Mr Ward, seen by the Telegraph & Argus, she said: “I was aware of Tim Farron’s comments, but he did not make the decision to remove you. I did.

“I did it because in my judgement you were attracting a lot of attention that was unhelpful to the party, and your comments were in my opinion showing an increasing lack of judgement.

“That does not mean I consider you to be anti-Semitic. It does mean that I judged it was not in the interests of the party for you to continue as the candidate.”

Ms Bray also cited Mr Ward’s “social media posts over several months” and the “adverse attention David’s past and current behaviour was attracting” among reasons for his dismissal.

But Mr Ward says that nearly six months on from his sacking, he still has not been told which specific comments caused offence or been offered a chance to defend himself.

Mr Ward said: “She said I lack judgement. I can bring in lots of people, including members of the Jewish community, who would disagree with her and would support me but I wasn’t given the opportunity to do that.”

He said he would like the party to change its processes to make them fairer for anyone facing accusations.

A spokesman for the Liberal Democrats said: “Mr Ward’s case was dealt with in accordance with the correct procedures set out in the party’s constitution.”

Mr Ward currently sits as an independent councillor for Bolton and Undercliffe on Bradford Council.

Many local party members have remained loyal to Mr Ward and the Lib Dem group on the council has renamed itself the 'Liberal Democrat and Independent Group' to keep him on board, despite his expulsion from the party.

A history of controversy:

In 2013, Mr Ward, then Liberal Democrat MP for Bradford East, posted a message on his website after signing a memorial book to mark Holocaust Memorial Day.

He wrote that he was “saddened that the Jews, who suffered unbelievable levels of persecution during the Holocaust, could within a few years of liberation from the death camps be inflicting atrocities on Palestinians in the new state of Israel and continue to do so on a daily basis”.

He was formally censured by Liberal Democrats chief whip Alistair Carmichael for his use of the phrase “the Jews” and apologised, saying he had “never for a moment intended to criticise or offend the Jewish people as a whole”.

Later that year, Mr Ward was suspended by then-leader Nick Clegg after tweeting: “Am I wrong or are am I right? At long last the #Zionists are losing the battle – how long can the #apartheid State of #Israel last?”

In a stern letter, Mr Carmichael said the tweet meant the MP had broken an undertaking to use language about Israel that was “proportionate and precise”.

Mr Ward insisted his comment had not questioned the right of Israel to exist but that it could not survive in its current “apartheid” form.

He condemned the party’s ruling as ''disproportionate'' saying such views were widely shared.

In 2014, Mr Ward was forced to apologise after appearing to back Hamas rocket attacks on Israel.

He caused an outcry after suggesting he would fire rockets at Israelis if he lived in Gaza.

"The big question is - if I lived in Gaza would I fire a rocket? - probably yes," he posted on Twitter.

Israeli ambassador Daniel Taub wrote to then-Lib Dem leader Nick Clegg, calling the comment “abhorrent and damaging”. Labour called Mr Ward's comment "vile", and Conservative Party chairman Grant Shapps said it was "essentially incitement to violence".

Mr Ward faced no disciplinary action from his party. Lib Dem chief whip Don Foster said he did not believe the comments were "in any way anti-Semitic" or brought the party into disrepute.

In 2015, Mr Ward was branded “crass” by Mr Clegg after tweeting “Je suis Palestinian” as Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu joined other world leaders in commemorating the terror attacks in Paris on the offices of satirical magazine Charlie Hebdo and a Jewish kosher supermarket.

He said the presence of Netanyahu - just five months after more than 2,000 Palestinians died in the Gaza conflict – “makes me feel sick”.

Mr Ward attacked the “double standards” of his critics, saying: “The event is for freedom, but when I speak out in support of the Palestinians I am immediately branded anti-Semitic and racist.”

Mr Ward lost his seat later that year but the Telegraph & Argus revealed he was being lined up as a candidate in this year’s snap election.

In the aftermath of the Westminster terror attack, Mr Ward tweeted that "all terrorist attacks in UK stem from our foreign policy".

Sir Eric Pickles asked Prime Minister Theresa May whether she shared his “disgust that a former member of this House, criticised by the Home Affairs Select Committee for his anti-Semitic utterances, is now the official candidate in Bradford East for the Liberal Democrats?”

Mrs May said: "People will be, I think, rightly disappointed to see the Liberal Democrats re-adopt a candidate with a questionable record on anti-Semitism.”

Then-Lib Dem leader Tim Farron said in his view some of Mr Ward’s comments were “anti-Semitic”. He said Mr Ward was “unfit to represent the party” and announced that he had sacked him as a candidate.

But Mr Ward claimed that the "slur" of anti-Semitism was a tactic aimed at preventing him or others from criticising the state of Israel.