Sentencing after threat to bomb council leader

A woman threatened to "burn and bomb" a council leader's workplace, a court has heard.

Khadija Nadeem threatened to kill Shabina Qayyum, who is the leader of Peterborough City Council, in a phone call to the surgery where she works as a GP.

The 40-year-old, of Reeves Way, Peterborough, was sentenced to six months in prison, suspended for two years, and she must complete 100 hours of unpaid work.

"I want to feel safe again and continue my work without being under the shadow of threats of violence," Qayyum said in a statement, read at Huntingdon Magistrates' Court.

Prosecutor Paul Brown told the court that Nadeem made the telephone call to the practice on 13 July.

"In that call she threatened to kill Dr Shabina Qayyum and during the call she said words to the effect of - that she would burn and bomb the surgery and that call was fully recorded," said Brown.

Qayyum, a Labour councillor, did not attend court for the sentencing.

In her statement, read by Brown, she said the incident had "taken me to my breaking point".

"This has had a profound impact on me," it continued.

"Telling me I could potentially be killed – it was frightening and distressing and deeply unsettling."

Nadeem admitted the charges against Qayyum and two other victims – who she threatened to kill in an unrelated incident on the same day – at a previous hearing.

Brown said Nadeem had told police "she was just angry at the time".

Her solicitor said she had been suffering with poor mental health when the threats were made.

Nadeem was also ordered to pay £85 in costs, a £154 victim surcharge, and subjected to a 12-month restraining order relating to Qayyum.

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