London Daily

Focus on the big picture.
Sunday, Aug 10, 2025

Brixton O2 Academy faces indefinite closure as Met ‘loses confidence’ in operator

Brixton O2 Academy faces indefinite closure as Met ‘loses confidence’ in operator

The Met Police have submitted an application for Brixton O2 to have licence revoked, saying it has ‘lost confidence’ in the operator

The Brixton O2 Academy faces the possibility of indefinite closure after the Met Police urged the council to strip the venue’s operator of their licence in the wake of a deadly crowd crush that killed two people.

A crush at an Asake gig in December claimed the lives of Gabrielle Hutchinson, 23, a security worker, and mother-of-two Rebecca Ikumelo, 33, also leaving a third person critically injured.

In January the venue’s operator the Academy Music Group (AMG) had their licence suspended for at least three months, and unless and until further steps were taken to “ensure the venue can open safely” in a variation application.

But in a fresh submission dated April 17, the Metropolitan Police said it had “lost confidence” in AMG and urged Lambeth Council to revoke the licence completely.

Gabrielle Hutchinson was killed in the crush


A spokesperson for the force confirmed the move to the Standard and said: “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.”

The next meeting is due to be held on May 15 and councillors may choose to ignore the recommendation of Scotland Yard. AMG told the Standard on Tuesday morning that they are cooperating fully with the police.

Simulataneous to the Met’s application, AMG submitted their own application for a variation of their licence, dated March 22, which would allow it to stay open if approved.

But the police’s application states that the option of allowing the venue to identify remedial steps to retain its licence “has not been successful in identifying the remedial measures which need to be in place before the Academy can safely re-open.”

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 license in a way that fully addresses police concerns about the venue’s operations, and ensure no repeat of the tragic events of 15 December, via that variation application.

“The variation application has been made, and will be considered at a Licensing Sub-Committee on a date that will be confirmed shortly. The O2 Academy Brixton’s will not be able to carry out any licensable activities until after that meeting at the earliest.

“On April 14 an application to review the O2 Academy Brixton’s licence was submitted by the Met Police. That application is now subject to a statutory consultation period.

“As a result there are currently there are two outstanding applications in relation to the venue, the license variation and the license review. Lambeth Council will consider both in due course.”

Academy Music Group told the Standard: ““Academy Music Group has co-operated 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.

Mum-of-two Rebecca Ikumelo also lost her life


“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.”

If the operator loses their licence another may step in.

Officers have previously appealed for footage to unlock why the deadly crowd crush happened.

The Met is still investigating the fatal incident, including claims of lax security and concertgoers attempting to enter without tickets.

A health and safety review is also being held by Lambeth Council, led by former chief executive Paul Martin.

Nigerian Afrobeats singer-songwriter Asake had been scheduled to perform on the evening of December 15 in the last of three shows in London that week before the chaotic scenes unfolded.

At an earlier hearing, Lambeth councillors were told that a large crowd formed in front of the venue, forcing staff to close the doors in the lead-up to the crush.

Newsletter

Related Articles

0:00
0:00
Close
Street justice isn’t pretty but how else do you deal with this kind of insanity? Sometimes someone needs to standup and say something
Armenia and Azerbaijan sign U.S.-brokered accord at White House outlining transit link via southern Armenia
Barcelona Resolves Captaincy Issue with Marc-André ter Stegen
US Justice Department Seeks Release of Epstein and Maxwell Grand Jury Exhibits Amid Legal and Victim Challenges
Trump Urges Intel CEO Lip-Bu Tan to Resign Over Alleged Chinese Business Ties
Scotland’s First Minister Meets Trump Amid Visit Highlighting Whisky Tariffs, Gaza Crisis and Heritage Links
Trump Administration Increases Reward for Arrest of Venezuelan President Maduro to Fifty Million Dollars
Armenia and Azerbaijan to Sign US-Brokered Framework Agreement for Nakhchivan Corridor
British Labour Government Utilizes Counter-Terrorism Tools for Social Media Monitoring Against Legitimate Critics
OpenAI Launches GPT‑5, Its Most Advanced AI Model Yet
Embarrassment in Britain: Homelessness Minister Evicted Tenants and Forced to Resign
President Trump nominated Stephen Miran, his top economic adviser and a critic of the Federal Reserve, to temporarily fill an open Fed seat
The AI-Powered Education Revolution: Market Potential and Transformative Impact
Chikungunya Virus Outbreak in Southern China: Over 7,000 Hospitalized
French wine makers have seen catastrophic damage to vines that were almost ready to be harvested after the worst fires in more than 70 years burned through the south of the country
US Lawmaker Probes Intel CEO’s China Ties Amid National Security Concerns
Brazilian President Lula says he’ll contact the leaders of BRICS states to propose a unified response to U.S. tariffs
Trump Open to Meeting Putin as Soon as Next Week, with Possible Trilateral Summit Including Zelenskiy
Katy Perry and Justin Trudeau spark dating rumors, joining high stakes world of celeb-politician romances
US envoy Steve Witkoff arrived in Moscow to seek a breakthrough in the Ukraine war ahead of President Trump’s peace deadline
WhatsApp Deletes 6.8 Million Scam Accounts Amid Rising Global Fraud
Nine people have been hospitalized and dozens of salmonella cases have been reported after an outbreak of infections linked to certain brands of pistachios and pistachio-containing products, according to the Public Health Agency of Canada
Karol Nawrocki Inaugurated as Poland’s President, Setting Stage for Clash with Tusk Government
Trump Signals JD Vance as ‘Most Likely’ MAGA Successor for 2028
US Charges Two Chinese Nationals for Illegal Nvidia AI Chip Exports
Texas Residents Face Water Restrictions While AI Data Centers Consume Millions of Gallons
U.S. Tariff Policy Triggers Market Volatility Amid Growing Global Trade Tensions
Tariffs, AI, and the Shifting U.S. Macro Landscape: Navigating a New Economic Regime
Representative Greene Urges H-1B Visa Cuts Amid U.S.-India Trade Tensions
U.S. House Committee Subpoenas Clintons and Senior Officials in Epstein Investigation
Sydney Sweeney Registered as Republican as Controversial American Eagle Ad Sparks Debate
Trump Accuses Major Banks of Politically Motivated Account Denials and Prepares Executive Order
TikTok Removes Huda Kattan Video Over Anti-Israel Conspiracy Claims
Trump Threatens Tariffs on India Over Russian Oil Imports
German Finance Minister Criticizes Trump’s Attacks on Institutions
U.S. Proposes Visa Bond of Up to $15,000 for Some Applicants
U.S. Farmers Increase Lobbying Amid Immigration Crackdown
Elon Musk Receives $23.7 Billion Tesla Stock Award
Texas House Paralyzed After Democrats Walk Out Over Redistricting
Mexican Cartels Complicate Sheinbaum’s U.S. Security Talks
Mark Zuckerberg Declares War on the iPhone
India Rejects U.S. Tariff Threat, Defends Russian Oil Purchases
United States Establishes Strategic Bitcoin Reserve and Digital Asset Stockpile
Thousands of Private ChatGPT Conversations Accidentally Indexed by Google
China Tightens Mineral Controls, Curtailing Critical Inputs for Western Defence Contractors
OpenAI’s Bold Bet: Teaching AI to Think, Not Just Chat
Tesla Seeks Shareholder Approval for $29 Billion Compensation Package for Elon Musk
Nvidia is cutting prices on its RTX 50-series graphics cards after sales slowed and inventories piled up
Ghislaine Maxwell Transferred to Minimum-Security Prison Amid Ongoing DOJ Discussions
U.S. Tariffs Surge to Highest Levels in Nearly a Century Under Second Trump Term
×