Leicester City Council has been criticized by the Food Standards Agency for the way it has let restaurant hygiene levels slip.

Concerns were raised over the lack of enforcement action taken against low-rated businesses and the backlog of uninspected restaurants in the city.

The Food Standards Agency (FSA) said the authority was putting diners at “unnecessary risk” after it was audited earlier this year.

A report released today by the agency’s chief executive Catherine Brown highlighted a number of concerns, nationwide, with regard to a lacklustre approach to food hygiene.

But Ms Brown drew particular attention to Leicester City Council in the eight-page document, saying its inspectors had failed on a number of points when dealing with food safety.

The report says: “An authority of particular concern to us at the moment is Leicester City Council, which the FSA has informed is in default of its statutory obligations under food law.

“This is as a result of ongoing and serious issues concerning levels of unrated premises, backlogs in inspecting premises, failing to inspect food manufacturing businesses prior to approval to operate and the level of enforcement activity undertaken in order to protect consumers.”