Health official faked rating for restaurant

A council environmental health officer who gave a restaurant a good hygiene score without visiting the premises was fairly sacked, an employment tribunal has ruled.

Mark Davies, a Wirral Borough Council official, gave the restaurant a four-star hygiene rating and forged a chef ’s signature. It emerged when he was under investigation that he also produced a report on a former care home that had been demolished.

Mr Davies, who had been employed by the authority since 2000, was sacked for gross misconduct in October 2020 and his appeal was dismissed. An employment tribunal has ruled that his dismissal was fair.