A war of words has broken out between Bradford West MP George Galloway and the leader of Bradford Council David Green.

Mr Galloway has accused Councillor Green of “keeping calm and carrying on” while a national emergency is engulfing the city, and declared that he has no intention of meeting the Council leader.

Coun Green has hit back accusing Mr Galloway of simply offering “personal attacks, empty rhetoric and opposition to action on critical issues facing the district”. In addition, he accused Mr Galloway of failing to engage with the Council and other organisations over issues facing the city centre and his constituency.

The row began yesterday as both men spoke out on the day a £7.7 million scheme to create more than 1,000 jobs, apprenticeships and work placements to tackle unemployment in the district was unveiled by the Council.

When asked by the T&A what he was doing to address Bradford’s problems, Mr Galloway said that the only people who could address the problem were the people who had power in City Hall and Whitehall.

“My job is to speak up and demand for the people of Bradford West what they require,” he said.

“Kids are being given homelessness packs at school, classrooms are being made ready to deal with an influx of families forced out of their homes, my constituency has experienced the highest year-on-year unemployment increase in the country and more than one-in-five families are in fuel poverty. If Mr Green doesn’t recognise that as a national emergency then he has no business being in the job. His strategy is to simply keep calm and carry on. It won’t fool the public.”

He accused the Council and its leader of a “fruitless, expensive and unconvincing attempt to massage the dole figures”.

Coun Green responded by accusing Mr Galloway of “empty rhetoric and political posturing”.

He said: “He has failed to engage with the Council, business leaders or any other body on the issues facing the city centre and Bradford West and he is clearly incapable of delivering on any of the promises he made in his election.”

“I believe that people in Bradford want to see genuine commitment and positive action not the empty rhetoric and political posturing of George Galloway which they are fast becoming tired of.”

Asked about his alleged refusal to engage with Coun Green, Mr Galloway added: “Why would I meet him? He is the problem, Labour is the problem, not the solution.”