Ban on bar director upheld after assault
Slough: Deco Bar and Lounge director ‘deeply sorry’ for his actions
Slough council has upheld a ban on a bar director who was prevented from entering the premises following a conviction for assault.
Deco Bar and Lounge co-director, Sukvinder Lall was restricted from entering the bar site at 277 High Street due to a licensing condition placed after his conviction in August 2022.
At a council licensing subcommittee hearing on Tuesday, an application to remove this condition, lodged by fellow bar director Darmesh Patel, was considered.
The committee heard from both Deco directors and Thames Valley Police, who had objected to the application on public safety grounds, and ultimately chose to uphold the current restriction.
At the hearing, Thames Valley Police licensing officer, Debie Pearmain, said ‘every action has a consequence.’
She added: “It’s very rare to have this condition of a premises licence which shows how seriously Thames Valley Police have taken Mr Lall’s behaviour.
“If this condition’s removed, we believe there will be a further risk to members of the public potentially being assaulted by Mr Lall.”
Mr Lall’s conviction came after an incident in January 2022 where a bar-goer, who had been denied entry, returned and hit the door of Deco bar with a baseball bat and sprayed tear gas.
While the man was detained by door staff, awaiting police, Mr Lall kicked him. This incident was depicted in footage shown at the hearing which showed an individual lying on the road outside Deco bar being kicked twice by Mr Lall.
Mr Lall pleaded guilty to the assault by beating charge and was given a 12-month community order and 150 hours’ unpaid work. Ms Pearmain also confirmed the man who sprayed tear gas had received a prison sentence for his actions.
In a statement at the hearing, Mr Lall said: “I would like to say how deeply sorry I am and how I regret my actions that evening.
“It was totally out of character for me as I don’t condone violence.
“It was my first ever offence of this sort and it will never be repeated.”
Mr Lall said he had needed to borrow money from friends and family due to financial difficulties caused by the licensing condition preventing from attending Deco bar.
In addition, he said he had completed his required community work with an ‘excellent’ record and also completed online courses recommended to him by probation officers.
He added: “I’m an honest and hard-working person who’s willing to help others, I’m not a threat to the public in any capacity.”
Ms Pearmain said: “When you’re dealing with people you are at night time - who are drinking, who are intoxicated – obviously you’ve got to be level-headed as a manager.
“You’ve got to be professional, the same as we all do in our roles.
“If that had happened anywhere else, whether it be a shop, a police officer, if anybody had acted like that they would have been dismissed instantly and that’s what we need to remember here.
“[Deco Bar and Lounge] Being a nightclub with intoxicated people, vulnerable people - that’s why we objected because the risk is higher in our view.”
The licensing sub-committee’s decision can be appealed.