O2 Academy Brixton could close permanently after Met calls to strip licence following fatal crowd crush

By Robert Firth, Local Democracy Reporter

The O2 Academy Brixton faces a fresh threat of permanent closure after the Met urged Lambeth council to strip the venue’s operator of its licence, following a deadly crowd crush that left two dead.

Gabrielle Hutchinson, 23, a security worker, and mother-of-two Rebecca Ikumelo, 33, died in the incident at an Asake gig last December, which also left a third person critically injured.

The venue has been closed since the crush last year. In January, Lambeth council ordered O2 Academy Brixton to remain shut for at least three more months while investigations into the incident continue.

Now the Met has submitted a fresh application to the council calling on the venue to be stripped of its licence completely.

Police said they had “lost confidence in the premises licence holder,” Academy Music Group, in the submission.

“Regrettably, the agreed ‘variation solution’ suggested to the sub-committee at the review hearing on January 16 has not been successful in identifying remedial measures which need to be in place before the Academy can safely re-open,” the application added.

In a separate statement, the Met said: “On Monday January 16, the licence of the Brixton O2 Academy was suspended for three months.

“On April 14, the Met 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. “

Prior to the Met’s submission, the venue’s operator, Academy Music Group, submitted a separate application with Lambeth council on March 22 that would allow the venue to reopen if approved. The date of this hearing will be confirmed soon, the council said.

A Lambeth council spokesperson said: “In January the sub-committee imposed a condition requiring the venue to cease all licensable activities pending it submitting a variation application – and the council granting that application.

“The operators of the O2 Academy Brixton were required at that last meeting to come up with workable changes to their licence in a way that fully addresses police concerns about the venue’s operations, and ensure no repeat of the tragic events of December 15, via that variation application.

“The variation application has been made, and will be considered at a Licencing Sub-Committee on a date that will be confirmed shortly.

“The O2 Academy Brixton will not be able to carry out any licensable activities until after that meeting at the earliest.

“[The] application is now subject to a statutory consultation period.”

An Academy Music Group spokeswoman said: “Academy Music Group has co-operated fully with the Met and Lambeth council since the tragedy at Brixton occurred.

“We have had regular meetings and discussions 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.

“The review of our licence will take place through the formal process with Lambeth council in due course.”

Pictured top: Police cordon outside of O2 Academy Brixton following crowd crush in December (Picture: Robert Firth)