High-profile former council leader John Ryan has won an appeal against his six-month-long suspension from Bradford Council's Labour group.

The regional Labour Party has ruled in favour of him and his Labour colleague Councillor Adrian Longthorn, who was also suspended, during a private hearing.

Coun Ryan, who is chairman of Bradford Hospitals NHS Trust, was ousted as Council leader three years ago in a dramatic group annual meeting.

He was beaten by Coun Ian Greenwood, who is still leader of the Labour group which lost its decade of overall control of the Council at the elections last May.

The heavy defeat resulted in a hung Council.

The two councillors were initially suspended in January for six months, which would have meant they could not take part in the annual meeting of the group in May, when it elects a leader and members to other key posts.

The disciplinary action was slapped on the pair after they failed to vote at a Council meeting on the privatisation of the district's education service.

They were removed from the education scrutiny committee after their suspension, and Coun Ryan was replaced on Bradford North area panel.

They were also allocated seats away from the Labour group at Council meetings.

It is understood the appeals were upheld after the regional Labour Party decided their suspensions should have been agreed through a secret ballot by the group, instead of the open vote it took. Afterwards the two declined to comment on their appeals.

A spokesman from the regional Labour Party said: "We have yet to formally notify everyone of the outcome of the appeals and are unable to comment until then."

Coun Greenwood and Labour chief whip Councillor Tony Cairns said they would not comment on an internal Labour group matter.

Coun Ryan had previously faced trouble in the group because he chaired a meeting of Bradford North area panel after Labour had decided it would not take key posts following its loss of council control.

He had refused a bid to re-elect him as panel chairman by members but took the chair for one occasion to allow the business to go ahead.