Licence holders for Wembley Arena have been warned it could have its licence revoked after a concert-goer claimed a steward assaulted them and a child was threatened with “extreme violence”.
The claimant alleged there were “significant child protection issues” at the OVO Arena in Engineers Way after attending a Black Stone Cherry & The Darkness concert on February 4 this year.
Brent Council says its licensing sub-committee may resultingly take steps including suspending the venue's licence for up to three months or revoking the licence, removing the designated premises supervisor or excluding the sale of alcohol.
The claimant, who claims they were “stone cold sober”, said that they took pictures of the steward after allegedly noticing him “losing his temper” to young children.
They added that their son was reportedly scolded by the steward for standing up in excitement at the seated area.
In the report for the committee, the claimant stated: “They were aggressively telling him (the child) that they wanted him to go back downstairs, or they were going to physically drag him down.”
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According to the complainant, the young boy was later “held against his will from his parent”.
While the attendee was standing – despite being instructed not to – he claims he was grabbed around the waist and was aggressively pushed and shoved.
It was claimed that senior staff failed to act with impartiality after reporting the issue, and sats the head of security was not wearing any clear identification.
A Metropolitan Police spokesperson confirms that a report was made of an “altercation” between a steward and member of the public.
Another reported incident has also been cited after an event on October 29, 2022, as one woman claimed a security officer had sexually assaulted her during a drug search and she was pushed out the fire exit door by security officers who did not wear their security badges.
Next week a review will be held to discuss the outcome of the licence, currently held by AEG Facilities, on Tuesday (March 28).
A spokesperson for AEG Facilities said: “As our priority is to ensure the safety of everyone attending the venue, OVO Arena Wembley takes all customer complaints very seriously.
"We have co-operated in full with the police and following thorough investigations by both venue and police, it has been concluded that no further action is required.”
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