South Kesteven councillor faces sanctions over racial slur

Conservative councillor Ian Stokes earlier resigned his position as vice chairman of South Kesteven District Council

A council in Lincolnshire is to consider imposing sanctions against a senior figure who used a racial slur during a public meeting.

Conservative councillor Ian Stokes made the remark while chairing a governance and audit committee meeting at South Kesteven District Council last month.

The meeting was being streamed on the council's YouTube channel.

An investigation said the authority received 21 formal complaints regarding the phrase used by Mr Stokes.

Mr Stokes, who earlier resigned his position as vice chairman of the authority, has apologised for the remarks, and told the council's monitoring officer Alan Robinson the term he meant to use was "needle in a haystack".

"It was said accidentally and for that I am truly and deeply sorry for any offence that I have caused to anyone," he said.

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However, a report due before a full council meeting on 25 November, said "the racist connotations" of the phrase used by Mr Stokes represented "a significant breach" of the rules and fell below the standards expected of someone working in public office.

The report also makes a number of recommendations regarding sanctions against Mr Stokes, including asking him to make a further apology and attend equality and diversity training.

Councillors will also be asked to vote on whether or not Mr Stokes should have a "public censure notice" on his website profile until the end of his current term, according to the Local Democracy Reporting Service.

Mr Stokes' resignation as vice chair and as chairman of the governance and audit committee was confirmed earlier by council leader Kelham Cooke.

He remains an independent councillor.