Legal Context

On Thursday 15 December 2022, The Brixton 02 Academy hosted a concert by the musical artist known as “Asake”. The ticketed event was sold out in advance. Shortly after 9 pm, a large crowd breached the entrance doors and poured into the venue. Many people were crushed. Some were seriously injured: two of them fatally.

The police applied for a summary review of the premises licence.

At a contested hearing on 22 December, Lambeth Council suspended the licence pending the review on 16 January 2023.  At that hearing, the Licensing Sub-Committee imposed a condition having the effect that no events may be held at the premises until the Council has approved an application to vary the Academy’s licence. The Sub-Committee said: “The variation application must address the steps that are required to promote the licensing objectives in light of the serious incident at the premises on 15 December 2022.”

FTB Involvement

The police were represented by leading counsel from Francis Taylor Building. A senior licensing barrister from FTB  was appointed legal adviser to the Council's Licensing Sub Committee.