Hounslow Council's cabinet member for housing is facing calls to resign after failing to declare that she was a director and shareholder of a company set up to buy, sell and lease residential property.
Councillor Sue Sampson, a senior figure in the borough's Labour administration, did not initially register her directorship of Cestrensis Limited on her register of interests despite council rules requiring councillors to declare directorships, including unpaid roles.
Omission prompts criticism
The omission has prompted criticism from opposition parties and comes at a difficult time for Hounslow Labour, which recently lost majority control of the council following the arrest and suspension of councillor Gurbachan Athwal, who denies wrongdoing.
Companies House records show Cllr Sampson, under her legal name Susan Lockyer, is a director and shareholder of Cestrensis Limited, owning between 25 per cent and 49 per cent of the business.
The company was not listed on her register of interests until the issue was raised by the Local Democracy Reporting Service.
Cllr Sampson's response
However, Cllr Sampson insisted there was no attempt to conceal the connection and said the company never became operational. She said: "I am a director and shareholder of Cestrensis Limited, where I am registered as Susan Lockyer. The company was incorporated in September 2025 and has never traded or operated and has never received any income."
According to Cllr Sampson, the company was established with the intention of purchasing, selling and leasing residential property, but the venture never progressed.
She added: "The company never became active, never traded, never acquired any assets and never received any income."
The councillor said she had not declared the directorship because she believed it was unnecessary given the company had not traded or generated income.
Following advice from the council's monitoring officer, she has now updated her register of interests.
Opposition and leadership reaction
Opposition politicians have questioned why the omission occurred.
Liberal Democrat councillor Roger Crouch said council leader Shantanu Rajawat should remove Cllr Sampson from the cabinet pending further investigation.
Conservative group leader Jack Emsley described the case as the latest example of a Labour administration "falling apart at the seams".
The controversy follows another case involving a Hounslow Labour councillor. Earlier this year an investigation concluded former councillor Farhaan Rehman should have declared unpaid company directorships which had not been included on his register of interests.
In a statement, Cllr Sampson rejected suggestions she had sought to hide the role.
She said the directorship had always been publicly available on the Companies House register and stressed that she had received no financial benefit from the dormant company.
Council leader Mr Rajawat defended his cabinet colleague, describing the matter as an "honest mistake".
He said Cllr Sampson had immediately sought advice from the monitoring officer and taken steps to ensure her register of interests was fully up to date.
"I am satisfied that Councillor Sampson made an honest mistake and that she has taken the appropriate actions in the interest of transparency," he added.
