Mayor of Nottingham gets suspended

A former Lord Mayor of Nottingham has received a suspended prison sentence after his quilt factory was found to breach fire safety regulations. Mohammed Munir, the owner of Trent Valley Trading in Bilborough, was sentenced at Nottingham Crown Court to six months imprisonment, suspended for two years, after pleading guilty to six separate offences under the Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005. Mr Munir, who was Lord Mayor of the city between 2006 and 2008, was also ordered to carry out 180 hours unpaid work and pay £4,000 in costs. His offences included failing to carry out a suitable and sufficient risk assessment and failing to comply with an enforcement order issued by Nottinghamshire Fire and Rescue Service (NFRS) to achieve a satisfactory standard of fire safety.

Despite being given ample time to comply with the notice, Mr Munir ignored the deadline and continued to trade at the premises while they were deemed unsafe.

Neil Williamson, fire protection station manager at NFRS, said: "In this case, my officers had previously spent some time ensuring that the occupier was aware of his responsibilities and duties to ensure the safety of employees, and it is disappointing that he chose to place people at risk from fire.