TORIES have insisted fair play is behind a bid to oust Harrogate's Liberal Democrat MP from the chairmanship of the town's conference and exhibition centre.

Phil Willis has been chairman since he was leader of Harrogate Borough Council and the authority's constitution was even amended in 1999 to allow him to stay on after his departure for Westminster.

However, the Conservatives have since wrested control of the council back from the Liberal Democrats - and the authority's next cabinet meeting will be asked to sanction an end to Mr Willis's reign as chairman.

If members agree, he will be replaced by the leader of the council, Councillor Mike Gardner.

The move has already led to recriminations from the Liberal Democrats, who have accused the Tories of "dirty tricks''.

They point out that the Harrogate International Centre board was founded in 1992 to remove the running of the facilities from the political arena. Mr Willis has also indicated his disappointment.

"The conference centre was a massive drain on the public purse in the 1980s, until the Liberal Democrats took control of the council and the decision was taken to operate the facilities as an arm's-length company," he said.

"Today, it is the only publicly-owned conference and exhibition centre in the black - and getting rid of the chairman for political purposes is against everything we set out to achieve. It is just nit-picking by the Conservatives.''

However, Coun Gardner was adamant the Tories' motivation was to restore the board's original balance.

"Changing the constitution to allow Mr Willis to remain after he was elected as an MP meant the Liberal Democrats gained an extra member while the party also voted to remove one of two Conservative representatives from the board," he said.

"All we are doing now that we have taken control of the council is reverting to the original set-up, where both the Liberal Democrats and Conservatives have two representatives each on the board, which is then chaired by the leader of the council.

"I would refute any claim we are responsible for any dirty tricks. Where else do you find an MP chairing what is essentially a council committee? It is just isn't the way councils work."