A London contractor has been given a suspended prison sentence after he ignored official warnings and put lives at risk, according to the Health and Safety Executive (HSE).
The HSE ordered Mohammed Mehdi Ali to stop working at a construction site in Willesden on 7 September 2018 after inspectors found “unplanned, unsupervised and unsafe” work was putting people at serious risk of injury.
Workers had been seen working on the roof area where they were at risk of falling from height as no measures to protect them were in place, and unplanned and unsafe demolition work had also left the building structure at risk of collapse, the HSE said.
Despite a prohibition notice being served against him, Ali ignored it and the work continued.
“Not only did the HSE investigation find that Mr Ali disregarded the prohibition notice, but also that he failed to put in place measures to ensure the health and safety of people at his construction site,” the HSE said.
Ali, of Barn Hill in Wembley, also failed to turn up at court in 2021 and as a result a warrant was issued for his arrest, it added.
“It was only thanks to intelligence from the local community that the police arrested him and the court proceedings could finally resume,” the health and safety watchdog said.
At a 7 October hearing in Westminster Magistrates’ Court, Ali pleaded guilty to committing an offence under s33(1)(g) of the Health and Safety at Work etc Act by breaching a prohibition notice and continuing to carry on the work, according to the HSE.
He was sentenced to 20 weeks imprisonment, suspended for 18 months, and was ordered to complete 200 hours of unpaid work and 10 days of rehabilitation, plus pay £12,151 in costs, the HSE said.
HSE inspector Saif Deen said: “Ali not only ignored HSE and the criminal justice system, he showed complete contempt for the safety of workers.
“The law requires employees to ensure the health and safety of persons at their workplace. Employers have a responsibility to ensure that everyone on a building site is safe.
“We will not hesitate to take action against those who fail to comply with HSE enforcement and continue to put their workers at risk.”
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Nicola Harley