A leading Grantham councillor has been accused of not declaring his financial interests properly.

Grantham and Stamford Labour Party say Cllr Adam Stokes should have declared his shareholdings in two companies which may benefit from his role as a director of a council-owned company.

Cllr Stokes, who was re-elected to the county council last week, is the cabinet member for finance and resources at South Kesteven District Council and an accountant by trade.

The Labour Party says it submitted formal complaints to both SKDC and Lincolnshire County Council on the day before last Thursday's local elections.

A statement posted on the constituency association website said: "This complaint relates to the apparent failure to register his private shareholdings with two companies on the register of interests at both South Kesteven District Council and Lincolnshire County Council.

"Recently, in his capacity as Portfolio Holder for Finance & Resources on South Kesteven District Council, Cllr Stokes has been appointed as a director of a council owned company, Leisure SK. In the process of this appointment, Cllr Adam Stokes failed to disclose financial interests in two companies that could potentially be directly the beneficiary of council funds distributed by this new company. Cllr. Adam Stokes has also failed to update the register of interests at both South Kesteven District Council and Lincolnshire County Council when he became a significant shareholder in both companies.

"The complaint has been lodged with both councils and we expect a full investigation to take place to understand why these interests have not been registered."

The statement added: "It is vitally important that we hold our elected officials to the highest possible standards. Failure to do so is doing a disservice to the people of Grantham and the whole of South Kesteven. Given the council's strategy to form council owned companies that operate in the private sector and as such limit the amount of scrutiny and checks that can take place, it is more important that we understand the nature of the financial relationships that our elected officials have.

"We look forward to working constructively with both councils to get to the bottom of this complaint."

The statement did not specify the companies Coun Stokes has interests in but government company records show the 37 year-old was appointed to LeisureSK as part of his council duties in November 2020.

The records also show Coun Stokes is also a director of a company that sells watches, jewellery, clothing, textiles and footwear.

He is also director of a catering company based at Grantham football ground.

He is also a director of Grantham Sports Academy, based on Trent Road, Grantham.

Furthermore, Coun Stokes is also a longstanding director and secretary of a Grantham bookkeeping company.

A spokesman for South Kesteven District Council said today: "A complaint has been received which the Council is processing in line with procedure."

A spokesman for Lincolnshire County Council said today: "I've checked with our democratic services team and we do not appear to have received a complaint at this point."

Coun Stokes referred Nub News to the district council's response.