Controversial ex-MP David Ward to stand in local elections

Controversial former Liberal Democrat MP David Ward has set his sights on a political comeback in next month’s local elections.

The one-time Bradford East MP is standing to become a district councillor in the Bolton and Undercliffe ward on Bradford Metropolitan Council.

Ward was a constant source of tension between the Lib Dems and Anglo-Jewry before losing his seat in last year’s General Election.

Ward was briefly suspended by the Lib Dems in 2013 after questioning the continued existence of Israel.

Separately, Holocaust Educational Trust chief executive Karen Pollock accused him of “deliberately abusing the memory of the Holocaust” with “sickening” comments he made about Israel’s treatment of Palestinians on Holocaust Memorial Day 2013.

He courted further controversy in July 2014 by suggesting that he would fire rockets at Israel if he lived in Gaza.