South Kesteven racial slur councillor Ian Stokes reinstated after training

Conservative councillor Ian Stokes has been re-instated after making a formal apology and undertaking diversity training

A councillor suspended from his party after he was recorded using a racial slur at a meeting has been re-instated.

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

He later resigned from his role as vice chairman of the authority and was stripped of the party whip.

Mr Stokes had since formally apologised and had undertaken diversity training, a Conservative spokesperson said.

The authority received a total of 21 formal complaints over the phrase Mr Stokes used during a public meeting which was streamed on the council's YouTube channel.

He told the authority's monitoring officer Alan Robinson the term he meant to use was "needle in a haystack".

A later review found Mr Stokes had breached the authority's code of conduct and it recommended a number of sanctions, including diversity training.

A spokesman for the Conservative Group at the authority said Mr Stokes had now formally apologised in front of a full council meeting and had undertaken equalities and diversity training.

They confirmed the party whip had also been restored, according to the Local Democracy Reporting Service.

In a statement, Mr Stokes said he "unreservedly" regretted the language he had used, adding: "It was a mistake."