Ladbrooke Hotel in Digbeth has licence suspended after birthday party stabbing

A man was left with ‘significant’ injuries after a stabbing at a birthday party. The venue, The Ladbrooke Hotel in Bordesley Street, Digbeth, had its licence suspended after the incident in the early hours of Monday, June 10.

Some 200 family and friends were said to have attended the party, which started at 9pm on Sunday, June 9 and was set to finish at 2.30pm. But at 3.19am West Midlands Police was alerted by City Hospital to a man who had suffered a ‘significant stab wound to the hand’.

The injury was believed to have been caused by a weapon.

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A spokeswoman for West Midlands Ambulance Service said: “We were called at 1.55am on Sunday, June 9 to an incident at an address on Bordesley Street in Birmingham. An ambulance was sent to the scene where, on arrival, crews found a man with serious injuries, but not life-threatening, injuries. He was taken to hospital for further treatment.”

Police contacted The Ladbrooke Hotel but staff there said they were ‘not aware of the assault and nothing had happened’, according to a statement by Supt Richards who referred the matter to Birmingham City Council for a summary review of the premises licence.

The venue operators had deemed the party ‘low risk’ and prepared a risk assessment which said a ‘thorough search policy would be in place for the event’. The superintendent said: “However, a weapon has clearly been brought inside the venue.”

'Safety of the public at risk'

A request for a summary review of the premises license was made. The police officer said the ‘wounding with intent’ incident was a ‘serious crime’ – which could lead to the perpetrator facing a life sentence. They said the normal review procedure would not be appropriate in this case.

A hearing was held before Licensing Sub-Committee A on Thursday, June 13. The main part of the hearing was held in private given the ongoing police investigation. At the conclusion of the hearing the committee suspended the premises licence, held by Metro Bailiffs Limited and removed Surjit Singh as the designated premises supervisor.

The police said they had ‘no confidence’ in the licence holder, nor the way the venue was being managed. It said: “The safety of the public was at risk.”

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'Catastrophic failure of risk management'

The interim steps decision published by the city council said: “The sub-committee's reasons for imposing the two interim steps are due to the concerns which were expressed by West Midlands Police in relation to matters pertaining to serious crime, which had come to light as outlined in the superintendent’s certificate and application. Those documents were in the committee report.

“The sub-committee determined that the cause of the serious crime originated from a style of management which had been incapable of upholding the licensing objectives. The style of management was the responsibility of the company, as premises licence holder for the premises.

“The police had found numerous aspects of the management style to be unsatisfactory – ranging from the risk assessments, security arrangements, and the handling of the incident described in the report. The police confirmed that, as a result of what had been seen thus far, they had no confidence in the licence holder."

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The statement continued: “The police view was that interim steps were required in order to deal with the causes of the serious crime while the criminal investigation was underway. It was the advice of the police that a lack of management control had led to the incident.

“It was the police’s recommendation that the incident had been so serious, and the risk to the upholding of the crime prevention objective so grave, that specific interim steps were required. The safety of the public was at risk. All in all, the police considered that there had been “a catastrophic failure of risk management” at The Ladbrooke Hotel.”

The premises for the licence was suspended with a full summary review hearing set to take place in 28 days from June 13. The report said premises supervisor Surjit Singh, admitted to a ‘remote’ style of management which was deemed ‘completely unacceptable’. The report added: “It was apparent by Mr Singh’s own admissions that he took no real responsibility, or indeed involvement, in any material aspect of the running of the premises, despite being named on the premises licence as designated premises supervisor for The Ladbrooke Hotel.”

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Police investigation ongoing

West Midlands Police confirmed it was investigating the stabbing at the Ladbrooke Hotel which was linked to ‘disorder’ on Sunday, June 9. A spokesman for the force said: “Shortly before 3.20am on Monday, June 10, a man presented himself at City Hospital with a serious stab injury to his hand and arm. We have linked this to an incident of disorder at the Ladbrooke Hotel, Bordesley Street, the previous night (June 9).

“The premises have since had its licence suspended following an expedited review until a full hearing is heard. Our enquiries continue and anyone with any information should contact us via Live Chat on our website or by calling 101 quoting crime reference number 20/569421/24. Alternatively, call Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555111.”