Ex-West Lindsey leader resigns as councillor after admitting fraud

The former leader of a local authority has resigned his position as a councillor a month after admitting stealing from party coffers.

Giles McNeill, 39, pleaded guilty to theft, fraud and forgery offences totalling more than £31,000 at a hearing in September.

West Lindsey District Council's chief executive Ian Knowles said McNeill's position would now be advertised.

The former Conservative leader is due to be sentenced at a later date.

In a statement, Mr Knowles said: "I have received the resignation of councillor Giles McNeill and, as such, the council will now carry a vacancy."

Details were available on the authority's website, he added.

McNeill previously admitted charges of theft by an employee, fraud by abuse of position and forgery between 2014 and 2020 when he appeared before magistrates in Lincoln in September.

The charges included the theft of £10,948 belonging to the Conservative Party and fraudulently cashing cheques totalling £20,252.54.

He also admitted forging signatures on 93 cheques and six charges of fraud by abuse of power as treasurer of West Lindsey District Council Conservatives, Gainsborough Conservative Club and Lincolnshire Area Conservative Party.

The charges against the former leader were brought following his arrest last September in connection with a fraud inquiry.

McNeill was leader of the council from May 2019 to September 2020, when he announced he was stepping back from the role for "personal reasons", according to the Local Democracy Reporting Service.

He also left his role as communications manager for Gainsborough Conservative MP Sir Edward Leigh.

However, he had remained a sitting councillor for the Nettleham ward prior to his resignation being announced.

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