Hounslow councillor Satwant Kaur has resigned the Conservative whip pending guidance from the council’s monitoring officer over a company directorship missing from her register of interests.
The Heston West councillor is listed on Companies House as a current director of Sanjam Properties Ltd. However, the role was not included in her register when the Local Democracy Reporting Service (LDRS) contacted her.
The company appears to be active, with assets and filed accounts, raising questions about whether the directorship should have been separately declared as a disclosable pecuniary interest. Her directorship of Mobile Touch Working Ltd was also not declared until July 2026.
Cllr Kaur said the Sanjam Properties role formed part of her main business, which she had already declared. She has referred the matter to the monitoring officer and will sit as an independent councillor while awaiting the outcome.
She told the LDRS: “The active directorship in question is a part of my main business, which I have declared in full. Given it is part of a fully declared business, I do not believe it needs a separate declaration. Nevertheless, I have referred the issue to the monitoring officer for further guidance.
“Whilst I await their ruling, I have removed myself from the Conservative whip. Unlike Labour, I take the issue of declaring interests extremely seriously and look forward to this being resolved.”
The disclosure has prompted a political dispute, with Hounslow Labour accusing the Conservatives of hypocrisy following their calls for Labour councillor Sue Sampson to resign over a separate declaration issue.
Cllr Sampson, the council’s cabinet member for housing, had not declared a property company directorship held under the name Susan Lockyer, the LDRS previously reported.
A Hounslow Labour spokesperson said: “This is some staggering hypocrisy by the Conservative Party in Hounslow. Councillors are required to declare disclosable pecuniary interests by law.
“These are business interests from which a councillor might make financial gain. Failure to declare them is a serious breach of the Members Code of Conduct.”
The spokesperson added: “The message from the Tories is always the same – do as I say, not as I do.”
The Hounslow Conservative Group defended its handling of Cllr Kaur’s case, contrasting her departure from the group with Cllr Sampson remaining in her cabinet role.
“Cllr Kaur has explained that this active directorship is part of an already declared business, however out of an abundance of caution she has referred herself to the monitoring officer for advice,” the group said.
“Issues of declaring business interests are extremely serious, and as a group we practice what we preach – that is why it is right that Cllr Kaur has been asked to resign the Conservative whip pending advice from the monitoring officer.”
The Conservatives alleged that Cllr Sampson had concealed her directorship by using a different name.
Cllr Sampson maintains that the arrangement is longstanding and that there has never been any attempt to conceal the connection between the names. Her 2018 election records noted that she was known as Sue Sampson.
