Restaurant's licence revoked over illegal workers

Councillors have voted to revoke the premises licence of a Lincolnshire restaurant over alleged illegal working and concerns about crime and disorder.

Home Office immigration enforcement officers said two illegal workers were found during a visit to the Spice of Life restaurant in Grimsby on 4 June.

A meeting of North East Lincolnshire Council's licensing sub-committee on 14 August heard the premises had a history of illegal worker breaches and had been given "a number of chances since 2020" to comply.

Owner Mohammed Abdul Salique denied the allegations and said he would appeal. He told the hearing: "I would not employ anyone that I know is illegal."

The meeting was told the inspection followed concerns raised during a visit in April, with one immigration officer describing Spice of Life as "probably the worst offending premises in [the] Grimsby local area in terms of repeated breaches".

Police licensing officer Grant Johnston said there had been five enforcement visits over the years, with illegal workers found on each occasion.

Salique's legal team argued there was insufficient evidence of illegal working, noting the Home Office issued neither a civil penalty nor a warning letter following the latest inspection.

Licensing barrister Duncan Craig said this suggested there was insufficient evidence of illegal working, and Salique had been out of the country during the visit, so had not met either of the two individuals identified by immigration officers.

The meeting was told one was on an unpaid trial shift and the other was visiting a relative.

"Our robust position is these two individuals weren't employed," Craig added.

Councillors also heard allegations that restaurant manager Mohammed Shahir, Salique's son, behaved abusively towards immigration officers.

However, Salique criticised the conduct of immigration enforcement, likening visiting officers to "dictators".

He said he was not going to defend his son, but added: "His bread and butter was being threatened."

Councillor James Sawkins said the committee found, on the balance of probabilities, that illegal workers were present on 4 June, based on witness, CCTV and physical evidence.

He said the Home Office's decision not to pursue a civil penalty had been taken into account, but added the restaurant had shown a "persistent and serious failure to uphold the prevention of crime and disorder licensing objective".

The restaurant's licence will remain in force pending an appeal at the magistrates' court, according to the Local Democracy Reporting Service.

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