London’s Metropolitan Police is calling for the O2 Academy Brixton to have its licence revoked, following the death of two people killed as the result of a crowd crush in December last year.
The venue’s licence was suspended in January for three months by Lambeth Council, after Gaby Hutchinson and Rebecca Ikulmelo died as the result of a crush at an Asake gig. The venue originally had its licence suspended straight away following the event.
A decision from the local authority on the venue’s future is expected to be decided at a licensing meeting soon.
“On Monday 16 January, the licence of the O2 Academy Brixton was suspended for three months,” the Met told PA news agency.
“On 14 April, the Met police submitted an application for a review of [the] 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 Academy Music Group spokesperson told the Guardian: “AMG has cooperated fully with the Metropolitan police and Lambeth council since the tragedy at Brixton occurred.
“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.”