Nightclub has licence revoked after gun fight

A nightclub in west London has had its licence revoked after a gun fight erupted there.

It comes after a health and safety officer was visiting the site following safety concerns and happened to witness the shooting on 13 October.

The local licensing authority, the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea, said no reduction in hours or change to conditions would be sufficient to address its concerns about the club.

Ricco Lounge said it "fundamentally disagrees" with the decision it and would appeal.

The Met Police previously called on the council to permanently close the club.

Police said it had taken four days for the managers to inform them about a customer who was carrying a gun on 13 October, despite knowing hours before the incident.

They added that security guards at Ricco's allowed customers in without searching them, others were allowed in without proper ID checks and at least one customer showed ID belonging to another person.

The council said the club had committed “serious failings” which were “totally unacceptable”.

Adding that it was “more by luck than judgement” that no-one had been killed or seriously injured.

A spokesperson for the council's licensing committee said, according to a police review, the incident may have involved "the discharge of at least one and up to four firearms".

"The trigger incident was a serious crime and the management failings and breaches of conditions were so serious," the spokesperson added.

One person has since been charged with possession of a firearm with intent to endanger life, and violent disorder.

The Met revealed that the management had also run a different nightclub that shut in February 2022 following a triple stabbing.

Ricco Lounge had proposed to voluntarily shut for three months to find and train a new management and security team.

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