KEIGHLEY'S mayor has asked people to get behind Keighley Town Council and allow it to move on in the wake of a completed police investigation.

Councillor Javaid Akhtar (pictured) said the probe into suspected fraud within the council – which found no evidence of criminal offences – had reached the right conclusions.

"I ask that people support us and allow us to move on, though staffing difficulties have made it harder for us to do so at the pace we'd like," he added.

He acknowledged that the 'comprehensive' investigation had shown that council committees and individual members acted outside their powers and did not follow the correct rules, noting that exactly the same point was made by a separate external audit.

Cllr Akhtar said the police also identified a lack of training and failures to understand council procedures.

"We have addressed those concerns, and our internal audit report shows we've done so," he said.

He again urged councillors to adhere to the town council's policy on speaking to the press, which stipulates that only the mayor, deputy mayor and town clerk can comment on behalf of the whole council.

The same policy says council committee chairs can speak to the press on matters relating to their committees, while individual councillors can speak about issues concerning their own wards.

The police investigation was called for by Keighley MP Kris Hopkins, after auditors identified multiple weaknesses in the council's accounting practices and governance.

In July the council was hit by the simultaneous resignation of both its clerk and deputy clerk.