A North London shisha lounge will able to keep its licence, at least for the time being, after it was reviewed in response to the fatal stabbing of a man outside the venue earlier this month.
The Metropolitan Police called on Brent Council to suspend the licence of Tigerbay Shisha Lounge, citing “critical failings and actions by management and staff” but the licensing committee deemed a suspension was “not appropriate”, although a full review will take place in a few weeks.
Police were called to reports of an attack at about 3.31am on May 18 outside the venue in Kingsbury.
Ali Faris Muhammad, 26, was taken to hospital after being left in critical condition with a stab wound but was pronounced dead shortly after. Police subsequently submitted an application to review Tigerbay’s licence, which is held by a company called Carlton Lounge.
The application was reviewed by Brent Council’s Alcohol and Entertainment Licensing Sub-Committee today (May 23), which subsequently chose not to suspend the shisha lounge’s licence. It instead recommended a number of conditions be attached to it, including the use of a security wand metal detector upon entry, a minimum of four security staff on site at all times, and no entry after 1.30am on weekends.
Due to the ongoing criminal investigation, officers stated that it is “currently difficult to establish the full facts from a licensing perspective” but alleged that the information gathered so far “demonstrates that the licensing objectives are not being upheld”. The police requested an immediate suspension of Carlton Lounge’s licence “pending a full review”.
The force had “serious concerns” that the venue’s management and staff had demonstrated a “lack of control of the venue” both during and after the altercation and suspected “serious failings” by the premises.
The Superintendent reviewing the case said: “I have serious and immediate concerns regarding the management of this venue and no confidence that they can operate without posing a risk to the public. It is my view that such critical failings and actions by management and staff constitute ongoing risk of serious crime.”
According to the police report, an estimated 20-25 people were involved in the disorder. Staff were present and witnessed events but, whilst security personnel had made attempts to separate people involved, the police stated that there was “no call from the venue staff or management” to report the incident.
Police alleged body-worn video shows a manager telling an attending officer that the groups involved in the disorder had not been inside Tiger Bay before the disorder. The licence review application submitted by the police stated: “This was untrue, as they had been and indeed most, if not all, of the people had come from inside Tiger Bay, some having been specifically ejected by the staff/security.”
It added: “What has so far been established is that no-one from the venue called the police, the SIA (door staff) appear to have removed the fighting groups from inside the premises and made little to no attempt to take control of the incident that then escalated outside.”
However, the committee ultimately decided that suspending the licence was “not appropriate” at this stage. A full review of the premises licence will take place in three to four weeks time, which will also give residents the opportunity to give their views. Tigerbay is temporarily closed while police continue to investigate the incident but aims to reopen on Tuesday (May 27).
Don’t miss out on the biggest stories from across the city: Sign up to MyLondon’s The 12 HERE for the 12 biggest stories each day.
