Brent Licensing Sub-Committee turn down police request for suspension of Carlton Lounge (Tiger Bay) licence in wake of murder outside after incident allegedly started in the premises. Instead small reduction in opening hours and additional conditions.

 Despite the police call for 'an immediate suspension of Carlton Lounge’s premises licence pending a full review due the level of seriousness of the incident,' the Kingsbury premises which includes Tiger Bay, has got away with a reduction in hours and some additional conditions. The Committee decided that a licence suspension was 'not appropriate;' despite the loss of life after an incident at the venue.

Interestingly, what appears to be a late police submission document on the Brent website, is actually blank. LINK

 

 

I have asked Brent Licensing for an explanation.

According to the Kilburn Times:

The bar will now close at 2am on Sundays to Thursdays rather than its usual 3.30am, with no entry after 1.30am

On Fridays and Saturdays, it will close at 3.30am – rather than its usual 4.30am - with no entry after 2.30am.

Other conditions include ensuring clear CCTV covers all people entering and leaving the venue, all publicly accessible internal and external areas and that a new camera is installed on the front of the premises.

 An earlier submission by the police said:

1) Police were called at 03:31 hours on Sunday 18th May 2025 by LAS - which had in turn received a 999 call from a man reporting a stabbing at Tiger Bay. On police and medic arrival, no casualty was present.

At 03:40 police had a call from a nurse at Northwick Park Hospital to report a man had come in with stab wounds.

2) CCTV shows a large-scale disorder immediately outside the venue from about 03:25 to 03:30, during which the victim received a stab wound and collapsed at the scene. He was taken to hospital by other people, before emergency services arrived. Estimated 20-25 people involved in the disorder.

3) There was no call from the venue staff or management to reports of the disorder, or anything else. Staff were present and witnessing events, and security personnel were involved in the disorder, in apparent attempts to separate people.

 

4) The suspect can be seen entering the venue at 02:00am, with others. There is no search of any of them, frisk, metal detector, wand or otherwise.

 

5) The suspect is later seen outside with a large knife, which was used in the disorder and appears to have been used to stab the victim, ultimately killing him (subject to pathology confirmation on cause of death).

 

6) Appears likely that the knife was in the suspect’s possession inside the venue.

 

7) Police body worn video (BWV) shows a manager telling an attending CID officer that the groups involved in the disorder had not been inside Tiger Bay before the disorder. This was untrue, as they had been and indeed most, if not all, of the people had come from inside Tiger Bay, some having been specifically ejected by the staff/security.

 

8) Police BWV shows the manager saying he thinks a bottle/bottles were involved. A customer approaches and says a knife was used and had been pulled out inside the venue. He was promptly ushered away by another manager/member of staff.

 

9) House to house enquiries revealed local residents complain there is frequently noisy anti-social behaviour from the venue.

 

Summary

 

This incident on 18 May 2025, constitutes serious crime and disorder, which has triggered this review. The Metropolitan Police have serious concerns that the premises management and staff members demonstrated a lack of control and failing to undertake pro-active searches. The staff initially indicated that the incident did not start in the venue and later retracted their statement, admitting that both groups were in fact inside the venue, where the altercation started.

 

94 documents were tabled for the sub-committee to consider. One was a 127 page report by a specialist consultant submitted on behalf of the premises owners: LINK