A former Sheriff of Nottingham abused his position to obtain a discount on repairs to his Land Rover and free hospitality tickets to Paw Patrol Live, a report has found.
Labour councillor Zafran Khan managed to get repairs done for £22,500 less than he had originally been quoted after emailing his local Stratstone Land Rover dealership from his council email and signing off as ‘the Sheriff of Nottingham’.
A report as part of an investigation by the council’s standards committee found there was no legitimate reason for using his councillor email address and it was ‘most likely …used deliberately to attempt to secure an advantage for himself’.
Mr Khan also requested and accepted free tickets for events at the Motorpoint Arena to see Canadian singer Tate McRae, the stage version of the children’s cartoon Paw Patrol, and the Nottingham Panthers ice hockey team in breach of council rules, the report said.
He also failed to declare his attendance at the opening of The Ivy restaurant in Nottingham.
Mr Khan had emailed The Ivy to say ‘in my capacity as the Sheriff of Nottingham, I wondered if you would like me to attend your opening in Nottingham. My role is an ambassador of leisure, tourism and hospitality in Nottingham and Nottinghamshire.’
Councillors are required to declare any gifts or hospitality with an estimated value of £25 or more.
In his submission Mr Khan said he only had a glass of prosecco (estimated at £9.95), one orange juice (estimated at £4.50) and one small vegetarian canapé which was less than £25 and therefore did not consider that he needed to register it.
It is understood Zafran Khan’s legal team have taken issue with the external report and will argue it contains both legal and factual errors
The role of Sheriff of Nottingham is to promote the city as a destination, to welcome tourists to the city and encourage residents to take advantage of the city’s activities
Mr Khan also accepted complimentary visits to the Nottingham racecourse hospitality suite with guests but did not declare these visits, the report said.
Complaints about Mr Khan were first received in September last year.
An investigation was subsequently carried out by legal firm Bevan Brittan which, in the report, said Mr Khan had breached the Code of Conduct in respect of gifts and hospitality, ‘use of position and disrepute’.
Mr Khan has denied any wrongdoing. He initially stated that he was not aware of his Code of Conduct but later said he had not fully understood it.
He said that following his election in May 2019, he had stayed up until around 4am or 5am before attending his councillor induction training at 9am the following day, meaning he was ‘very tired and could not remember much of what happened’.
The report found Mr Khan was initially told his Land Rover was out of warranty and would cost £30,000 to repair. After he sent two emails signed off ‘Sheriff of Nottingham’ it was agreed that the Land Rover would be repaired for around £7,500.
Mr Khan said he had always driven high quality cars and the problem with his Land Rover was ‘unexpected and dangerous, and the worry caused him to lose sleep and his appetite’.
His uncle had been ill and died in October 2025, therefore this was one of his lowest points, he said.
Mr Khan said he had not intended to try to secure any benefit as a result of his position but the report found it unlikely that the use of his title was ‘entirely inadvertent’ and that it was ‘reasonably obvious that communicating a status of some importance (such as Sheriff and/or Councillor) might lead to an advantage’.
Mr Khan was also found to have got free tickets and use of a hospitality box at Nottingham Racecourse which he did not declare.
He said Nottingham Racecourse initially asked him to visit because they wished to attract more BME visitors.
Mr Khan said he initially did not declare tickets to shows at the Motorpoint Arena because he considered their value to be £0 because they were complimentary and had no cost to the Council which owns the venue.
The report found there was no formal civic role for Mr Khan at these events and he was also located in a hospitality box with his friends rather than with the general public, ‘making any incidental civic role unlikely’.
The investigation found no breach in relation to Mr Khan ‘trying to meet and host’ the owner of Nottingham Forest and ‘support for persons involved in court proceedings’.
Mr Khan was elected to represent the Wollaton West ward in 2019, and held the civic role for a year until May.
The ceremonial role is to promote Nottingham as a destination, to welcome tourists to the city and encourage residents to take advantage of the city’s activities.
He is the brother of council leader Neghat Khan. There is no suggestion she has done anything wrong or is connected to the investigation in any way.
The report, which has been published on the council’s website, has not yet been considered by members of the Standards and Governance Committee.
It was due to determine if he had breached the rules and if so what sanction should be imposed on Thursday.
But the meeting was abandoned after an opposition councillor compared Mr Khan to ‘the far more infamous Nigel Farage’ who is facing allegations of accepting illegal donations, which he denies.
A city council spokesman said the meeting would be rescheduled.
It is understood Mr Khan’s legal team have taken issue with the external report and will argue it contains both legal and factual errors.
