Councillor hit with £160,000 fine for employing illegal workers at his restaurant

A councillor has been hit with a hefty fine after a Home Office raid found he was employing illegal workers at his restaurant. Indian restaurant The Bombay Cottage in Scotgate, Stamford , was visited by immigration enforcement officers, who found four people were working illegally. The Home Office has not provided any further details on what happened to those arrested, despite being repeatedly asked.

It is understood that Habib Rahman, who owns the restaurant and is a South Kesteven District and Stamford Town Councillor, was given a £160,000 fine as a result. An application for the district council to review the premises licence - a legal permit needed to sell alcohol - was also made by the Home Office in February. However, the premises licence was given up weeks later, which meant the review didn’t take place.



Mr Rahman shared a post on social media in March saying that the restaurant had gone “alcohol-free” and when asked by LincsOnline he said it was “a personal preference and family decision” . He did not disclose that the restaurant, which has been operating in Scotgate for more than 30 years, had been the subject of the Home Office investigation. Mr Rahman, a member of the Liberal Democrats, was elected last year to represent the Stamford All Saints ward on South Kesteven District Council - the authority which is responsible for alcohol licenses.

Among his pledges was to campaign for safer neighbourhoods. He is also standing for election on Lincolnshire County Council representing Stamford West. His opponents are Stefan Calvert (Con), Richard Cleaver (Ind), Samantha Elizabeth Hammond (Lab) and Michelle Seal (Reform UK).

The Home Office investigation, which took place in November, will not affect his position as a councillor. Under the Local Government Act 1972, only those sentenced to imprisonment of more than three months without the option of the fine within five years before the day of election or since election can be disqualified. A Home Office spokesperson said: “Organised immigration crime is a multi-million pound industry, which stretches from the trafficking routes thousands of miles away through which people are brought to our country to the high streets across the United Kingdom where many of those people end up working illegally.

“As part of our plan for change, this government is cracking down on that criminal industry at every level, including stepping up our visits to restaurants and other businesses where illegal working is taking place, and increasing our enforcement action both against illegal workers and the people who employ them.” Mr Rahman did not respond to requests for a comment regarding his position as councillor and the Home Office raid when asked this week..