Newham licensee wins appeal after having licence suspended for nine months

Sharanjeet Lalli, of Newham’s the William the Conqueror, won an appeal before a district judge and will now be able to reopen. Lalli had her licence revoked following an expedited review after an assault took place at the pub last year.

Concerns were first raised after an ejection of a difficult customer led to him allegedly being kicked by Surjit Lalli, a member of management and Sharanjeet Lalli’s husband, and by another customer. A licensing sub-committee held earlier this year accused the pub of having a ‘catastrophic failure of management’ by failing to call the police or properly administer first aid during the incident.

However, a recording of the 999 phone call revealed at the appeal found that the police had been called-but failed to turn up. Management at the venue also administered first aid in line with what was suggested by emergency response staff. 

District judge Alison Rose deemed the decision to revoke the licence ‘wrong’ and police evidence ‘open to interpretation.’ She added that she was ‘satisfied concerns about the pub’s management could be addressed by the inclusion of further conditions on the licence.’

Surjit Lalli will no longer be allowed in the licensed area of the premises in a management role and staff will be trained in conflict resolution.

Sharanjeet Lalli said: “I’m over the moon with the results of the appeal. I think the decision was wrong in the first place and that the committee treated me unfairly. There have been ups and downs in my life but this is the worst thing that has ever happened to me.

“I’ve been physically unwell from stress and I’ve had to rely on support from family and friends over the past nine months. As a result, I’m now in debt and my first priority will be to pay those people back.”

Licensing solicitor David Dadds, who represented Lalli, said: “This was an everyday ejection that went wrong. It is absolutely clear that this was not a venue with a history of trouble and there have been no concerns about the way the premises were managed before this incident.”

“In my opinion, Newham council failed to act properly and failed to correctly challenge the police’s evidence. Questions also need to be asked about why the police failed to respond.”

The case is not the first time Newham licensing sub-committee has faced criticism. The Guvnor nightclub was closed for seven months, losing an estimated £200,000 before a district judge found the committee had accepted ‘misleading’ evidence from the Metropolitan Police.

The PMA ​has requested a comment from Newham council and are awaiting a response.