Ashfield councillor fined £2,400 for failing to register a financial interest

However Tom Hollis was not disqualified from serving as a councillor after Nottingham Magistrates' Court was told the 30-year-old had not acted dishonestly.

Cllr Hollis, who is a member of the Ashfield Independents group and is also a Nottinghamshire county councillor, pleaded guilty on Monday to two offences under the Localism Act of failing without reasonable excuse to notify both authorities of a disclosable pecuniary interest when he was re-elected in 2019 and 2021.

In a statement Cllr Hollis, oif Yew Tree Drive, Huthwaite, said: “ I pleaded guilty to a technicality of a paperwork error. My only crime was lending a friend some money, and I didn’t record that loan as it was just to a friend. There have been no complaints about wrongdoing or any personal gain of any kind, Nottinghamshire Police pursued this at the highest levels and tried to get me kicked out of my job.

“This was always ludicrous and a clear abuse of process and the judge agreed that he wouldn’t even consider their argument and refused to award them costs, making it clear he thought there had been no dishonesty. It’s such a shame that Nottinghamshire Police continue to persecute people based on not liking their politics, rather than doing the job that taxpayers pay them to do, and tackle real crime locally.”

When approached for comment, Nottinghamshire Police said: “Hollis has pleaded guilty to a crime and was fined by the courts.”