Magistrate named in Queen's Birthday Honours List

A Lancaster magistrate has been listed in the Queen's Birthday Honours List.
The Queen paid a visit to Lancaster and Bilsborrow last year.The Queen paid a visit to Lancaster and Bilsborrow last year.
The Queen paid a visit to Lancaster and Bilsborrow last year.

Usman Munshi JP, 61, of Lancaster, has been awarded a prestigious MBE for his services to community cohesion and engagement in Lancashire.

Mr Munshi’s sustained efforts over the last decade in particular have been important in helping to develop

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

awareness and respect between the various community groups in the Lancaster District.

He has devoted countless hours over the last 31 years to supporting his local community and promoting a peaceful and

moderate interpretation of Islam.

In the early 2000s, during the fiercest protests against military, he was unstinting in promoting peace and dialogue between local communities.

He took it upon himself to organise and host regular diversity dialogues, bringing together local community and develop an understanding of each other’s points of view.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

He also made a conscious commitment to attend and promote community, such as Holocaust Memorial Day and he is committed to supporting local people and developing community cohesion.

He has become a trusted leader and advocate of the local Muslim community.

He has been an articulate spokesperson for moderation and dialogue and partly through his efforts of personal leadership, being prominent in the community.

He also acts as an effective ambassador for his faith locally, giving lectures and presentations on Islam, diversity and equality in local schools and the two universities, as well as taking part in activities to promote peace and understanding both nationally and internationally.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

He has been a magistrate in the district for the last five years.

Other people in the North West recognised in the honours list and awarded MBEs include Sylvia Jean Cheater, 67, of the Wirral, for

services to women and the community in Cheshire; Catherine Obergelle Hill-Odita, 38, of Liverpool, for services to the community in Wavertree, Liverpool and Paul Le Pinnet, 69, of Warrington, Cheshire, for services to British Scientific Glassblowing.

People in the North West awarded the BEM (British Empire Medal) include Annabelle Lee, 50, of Staining, Lancashire, for services to Vulnerable Adults and the Homeless Community in Blackpool; Lisa Florence Shepherd, 42, of Hyde, Cheshire, for services to Homeless Men in Greater Manchester and William Morley, 61, of Cleator Moor, Cumbria, for services to the community in Cleator Moor, Cumbria.