O2 Academy Brixton to remain closed following fatal crush

The O2 Academy Brixton in London is to remain closed for a further three months after a fatal crush left two people dead and one in critical condition.

Rebecca Ikumelo, 33, and security guard Gaby Hutchinson, 23, died when ticketless fans tried to force entry to a sold-out concert by Nigerian afro beats artist Asake on 15 December.

The venue’s licence will now be suspended until 16 April following a request by the Metropolitan Police, who are investigating the incident.

In an application for the licence to be revoked police said it was apparent staff had “completely lost control of the situation” on the night of the concert.

The O2 Academy Brixton will be required to submit a variation application to change the conditions of its licence to address police concerns over the way it is run.

Councillor Mahamed Hashi, Lambeth’s cabinet member for safer communities, said: “The families and friends of Rebecca Ikumelo and Gaby Hutchinson have suffered an incredibly painful bereavement and other people have suffered serious injury in this incident.

“I thank the sub-committee for their efforts today to ensure that we see no repeat of December’s shocking scenes. They have carefully considered all the issues and listened to all parties before coming to this considered and important decision.

“It is now up to the O2 Academy Brixton to work with the authorities and come up with workable changes to their license, to deal with these matters, and to make a variation application.”

The decision follows a 28-day interim closure order made by the council at the end of last year.

Academy Music Group, which owns the O2 Academy Brixton, said on Saturday (14 January) that it had “reflected deeply” on the incident and the venue would remain closed while it cooperated with police enquiries.