THE Leader of the House of Commons says he is "unsympathetic" to calls to tackle the firework issue in Bradford, saying they are "a little bit of harmless fun."

Jacob Rees-Mogg said he did not think the Government should "take enjoyment out of people's lives" by introducing tighter rules on fireworks when the issue was raised in Parliament by Keighley and Ilkley MP Robbie Moore.

For years there have been calls from politicians, community groups and residents for more to be done to tackle anti-social firework use in Bradford.

Last month a group of Councillors from across all political parties produced a report into firework use in Bradford, and the issues it causes.

The report found that under current legislation it would be an "impossible task" to clamp down on the problem. One suggestion of the Scrutiny Review was that local MPs be asked to lobby Government for changes in laws to make it easier to stop people engaging in anti-social firework use.

But after Rees-Mogg's comments in Parliament a top Councillor fears there will be "little progress" while Government and local MPs disagree on the way forward.

Robbie Moore, the Conservative MP for Keighley and Ilkley, raised the issue in Parliament on Thursday. He said: "Although Bonfire Night is fast approaching, many of my constituents are plagued by fireworks being let off for all hours of the night throughout the calendar year.

"May we have an urgent debate in Government time to discuss the licensing provisions around the sale of fireworks and have a frank discussion around how local enforcement can clamp down on this anti-social behaviour?"

Commons Leader Jacob Rees-Mogg did not appear sympathetic towards the issue, though, as he claimed "people enjoy them" and the Government should not take away life pleasures.

Current laws make tackling firework menace in Bradford an 'impossible task'

He said: "Unfortunately, I am going to find myself in disagreement with him.

"I think fireworks are a little bit of harmless fun, people enjoy them and we shouldn't take every enjoyment out of people's lives with endless licensing and regulations.

"On this side of the House we are meant to be cautious about excessive regulation and power to more bureaucracy.

"I am afraid I am unsympathetic to his request."

Bradford Council's review encouraged residents to come forward to discuss how fireworks were blighting their lives. It saw councillors speak with police, the fire service, RSPCA, Trading Standards, wedding venues and 92 residents of the District.

It found some work could be done on the issue, including possibly introducing public space protection orders to stop anti social firework use. But it added: "It is very difficult to stop existing shops selling fireworks; it’s difficult to stop people buying fireworks online, it’s also difficult to catch individuals who are setting off such powerful fireworks and to enforce against them.

Keighley fire crew attacked by youths hurling fireworks

"It appears to be an impossible task to follow the legislative route with any meaningful impact and therefore if you cannot enable people to change their behaviour, it is unclear as to how to make a sufficient enough impact on this agenda, through current legislation."

Mr Moore this week announced he was launching a similar survey of residents, and would feed the results back to Bradford Council.

Referring to the comments made in Parliament, Councillor Abdul Jabar, executive member for neighbourhoods and community safety on Bradford Council, said: “The Council, unlike the Government, is quite clear about fireworks.

"Councillors produced a report last month after taking advice from expert witnesses.

"It concluded that we need MPs to bring a bill in parliament to help us reduce the noise levels of all categories of fireworks.

"We want them to stop the sale of the more powerful fireworks and implement a licensing system to ensure fireworks are sold responsibly and support organised events.

"We will send a copy of the report to the MP so that he can have the benefit of our experience in this area. But whilst Conservative MPs are disagreeing openly with each other in the House of Commons on the subject, they will make little progress on the issue.”