COUNCILLORS paid tribute to their former colleague and Telegraph & Argus columnist Keith Thomson at a meeting of Bradford Council.

Keith Thomson was a former head of Grange school as well as a Labour Councillor for Wibsey, wrote the T&A’s weekly Envirowatch column and helped set up the Bradford Metropolitan Food Bank. He died last month following an illness.

At the annual meeting of Bradford Council yesterday members spoke of Mr Thomson's legacy.

Keith Thomson was a "gentle, caring man" who changed people's lives

Councillor Ralph Berry (Lab, Wibsey) said he met Keith in the early 90s adding: "He was an antidote to what politics had become. He could get any group of people together to work on a problem for the common good - that was something he exemplified." Talking about his passion for environmental causes, he said: "Everything we see now with Extinction Rebellion and other groups - Keith was doing years ago."

Councillor Richard Dunbar (Lab, Thornton and Allerton) said: "Keith was my councillor when I grew up in Buttershaw. He was principled, passionate and extremely likeable.

"Politics seemed very distant to me and other people in the area I grew up in, Keith made it a reality and a part of our lives. He made it feel like Buttershaw had a voice."