Future of Brixton Academy to be decided after deadly crush

A two-day hearing of a Lambeth Council subcommittee will decide whether the venue is safe for use.

Brixton O2 Academy (Kirsty O’Connor/PA) (PA Archive)

Councillors are set to decide on the future of the Brixton Academy after a deadly crush at the venue.

Security guard Gaby Hutchinson, 23, and Rebecca Ikumelo, 33, were killed at the venue on December 15 last year when fans without tickets tried to enter a show by Nigerian artist Asake.

The south London music venue faces permanent closure after the Metropolitan Police urged the council to remove its licence.

A two-day hearing of Lambeth Council’s licensing subcommittee will begin on Monday and will decide whether the O2 Academy Brixton is safe for use.

Councillors previously suspended the venue’s licence for three months and the decision was supported by the venue’s owner, Academy Music Group, which offered its condolences to the families of those who died.

About 1,000 people were outside the venue and police found “large-scale disorder” with crowds eventually pushing the doors open, according to Gerald Gouriet KC, who represented the Met at the earlier licensing meeting.

A police investigation was launched and the Security Industry Authority opened an inquiry into corruption allegations made after the crush.