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Brixton Academy faces indefinite closure after fatal crush

Wed 26 April 2023 9:38, UK

The O2 Brixton Academy is facing indefinite closure following the fatal crush on December 15th last year.

The incident unfolded when people outside the venue forced their way into the Asake show, which led to overcrowding and the performance being cancelled. It claimed the lives of the mother of two, Rebecca Ikumelo, and security guard, Gaby Hutchinson, and caused serious injuries to numerous others.

At the time, Lambeth Council forcibly closed the site until a meeting on January 16th. The venue’s operators, AMG, offered a voluntary closure for three months as the police conducted their investigation. This decision was influenced by the police suggesting that “security staff had completely lost control of the situation with regards to crowd control”. The outcome of the January meeting was that the venue would remain closed for another three months.

Now, in a new submission dated April 17th, the Metropolitan police said it has “lost confidence” in AMG and is urging Lambeth Council to revoke its licence entirely.

Speaking to BBC News, a force spokesperson explained: “On Monday 16 January, the licence of the Brixton O2 Academy was suspended for three months. On 14 April, the Met Police submitted an application for a review of premises licence to Lambeth Council and will be seeking a revocation of the licence. This matter will be decided at a future council sub-committee hearing on a date to be confirmed.”

An AMG spokesperson said the company had “co-operated fully with the Metropolitan Police and Lambeth Council since the tragedy at Brixton occurred”.

Adding: “We have had regular meetings and discussions with the Metropolitan Police and Lambeth Council at which we have presented detailed proposals that we believe will enable the venue to reopen safely. AMG has been awaiting feedback on those proposals for several weeks and looks forward to hearing from the police as soon as possible in constructive terms.”

As well as the Metropolitan Police’s application, on March 22nd, AMG submitted their application for a variation of the licence, which would allow Brixton Academy to remain open if approved.

However, the police’s application asserts that the option to allow AMG to identify remedial steps to retain the licence “has not been successful in identifying the remedial measures which need to be in place before the Academy can safely re-open.”

The next meeting between the parties is on May 15th.