Istanbul Grill takeaway in Newquay, Cornwall loses licence over assault

Devon and Cornwall Police had applied for Cornwall Council to review the licence of Istanbul Grill in Newquay which allows it to serve food up to 4am.

They made the application after an assault took place outside the takeaway in January for which two men were cautioned for common assault.

At a meeting of the council’s licensing act sub-committee councillors agreed unanimously to revoke the licence.

Police explained that CCTV footage showed the men, one of whom worked at the takeaway, “punched, kicked and spat” at a customer.

Sue Edwards, licensing officer for the police, said that at one point the CCTV appeared to show the victim was rendered unconscious.

Mrs Edwards said that she had been a licensing officer for 15 years and that Newquay was one of the main areas she covers.

She told the sub-committee that in the last five years she had only applied for three licence reviews, adding: “You only review a premises licence when a matter is serious enough and warrants such action.

The CCTV footage, which was shown to the online meeting, shows two men manhandling another man and then attacking him. After the victim falls to the floor they continue to assault the man.

One of the men taking part in the attack was wearing a black shirt which had Istanbul Grill printed on the back.

Mrs Edwards said: “As you can see this is a continuous assault on the victim. He is punched, kicked and spat upon.”

Image from the CCTV video which was shown to Cornwall Council\'s licensing act sub-committee when it considered a licence review for the Istanbul Grill in Newquay. It shows an assault which happened outside the takeaway in January this year

She told councillors that nobody at the takeaway contacted the police about the incident and said that she would have expected a responsible licence holder to call police.

Mrs Edwards said that a statement from licence holder Tracey Buckingham caused concern amongst police.

In the statement she explains that two people decided to eject the man from the premises after he started to cause problems. She said they decided to “deal with the matter themselves” rather than calling the police.

Mrs Edwards said: “This was not ejecting the male, it is a prolonged assault on the male using unacceptable force. This statement worries me as a licensing officer.

“The licence holder doesn’t seem to understand that this type of vigilante behaviour by staff is not acceptable.”

Acting Inspector Johnson from Newquay police said he supported the application for the licence at Istanbul Grill to be revoked.

He said that in the last ten to 15 years police had “worked really hard” to ensure that licensed premises meet the objectives of licensing law. And he said: “I can’t allow this town to return to the days of old.”

Committee members asked Acting Inspector Johnson whether the action taken against the customer could be considered to be “reasonable force”.

He said: “I have seen the CCTV footage that I would suggest it goes far beyond what anyone would consider to be reasonable force.”

The committee also heard that there had been concerns about whether the takeaway was following Covid-19 guidelines after staff were found to be serving customers without wearing face coverings.

And they heard that the staff member involved in the assault had “overstayed” his visa and was not legally allowed to work in the UK.

Nick Semper, from The Licensing Guys, speaking for Mrs Buckingham, told the committee that she had not been aware that the member of staff did not have a visa to work in this country and said she was provided with a National Insurance number for him and had paid him through her payroll.

Mr Semper also made clear that the other man involved in the assault, although a previous employee of the business, had no involvement with the takeaway and was just a friend of Mrs Buckingham.

He also told the committee that it was felt that the seriousness of the assault was being overstated, highlighting that the two men had been given a caution which he said was the lowest form of punishment available.

Mr Semper said that both men had said they were acting in self-defence but he did say that they “accepted that things went too far”.

But he said that the police were being “inconsistent” in saying that it was a serious assault.

In response to the claims about the breaches of Covid-19 regulations Mr Semper said that the legislation was “confusing” but said that all guidelines were now being followed after advice was provided.

Mrs Buckingham told the committee that she had held the licence since November 2020 but had been unable to take a hands-on role as she was shielding due to a medical condition.

However she said she was now able to be more involved and wanted to make sure the takeaway was a family run business which operated responsibly.

She also added that she felt that she was being victimised due to issues which had previously occurred at the takeaway when it was under former management.

In their decision the committee said that it considered all the evidence which had been provided but had “very serious concerns about the running of the premises and the undermining of the objectives around prevention of crime and disorder and public safety”.

It was for that reason that they agreed to revoke the licence.