Birmingham pub faces losing licence after serious assault

A BIRMINGHAM pub faces the loss of its licence after an assault in the early hours left a customer with serious injuries.

The incident happened at The Cross Keys, Steward Street last month and left the customer with a broken nose, fractured eye socket, broken cheekbone and missing teeth.

Birmingham’s licensing sub-committee meets today to discuss the incident having already placed the licence under review at the request of the police last month.

The police said that at 6.30am on July 10 the pub was busy when there was a fight on the dancefloor which resulted in the victim sustaining the serious injuries. The police said the injuries had been assessed and the crime met the criteria of grievous bodily harm without intent.

CCTV from the pub shows the attack taking place. Police did not receive a 999 call in relation to the incident and subsequently found out about the assault when the victim visited their local police station after being discharged from hospital.

Police said that while the assault was the most serious incident, CCTV had also captured other breaches of the licence, including smoking in public areas.

A report submitted to the licensing sub-committee by the police states that the licensee of the pub took no steps to prevent the breaches of licence or promote public safety. They also said it was clear that he had lost control of the premises on the morning of the assault.

“In light of this and against the seriousness of the crime and breaches which occurred, West Midlands Police are requesting the immediate suspension of the premises’ licence pending a full review hearing,” states the police submission.

Police said the premises were associated with serious crime and disorder and that procedures under the Licencing Act were insufficient to deal with such a serious incident.

They said they were worried that if nothing was done then further breaches were likely.

At a meeting of the sub-committee on July 18, councillors said they were concerned that no one from the pub had taken any action to contact the police to try and prevent the wounding, in fact evidence submitted to the council suggested that the manager on duty at the time of the assault had actively discouraged the victim from calling the police, even offering them money if they wouldn’t as they were worried the pub could be closed down.

In an attempt to keep its licence, the pub has said it will install upgraded CCTV equipment, employ bouncers on the door, keep an incident log, immediately inform the police of any further incidents and operate a zero tolerance policy on drugs.