The Metropolitan Police is calling upon Lambeth Council to permanently revoke O2 Academy Brixton’s license.
The Evening Standard reports that the Met put forward a renewed submission for the venue to be permanently closed down earlier this month, with the organisation writing that it had "lost confidence" in venue owner and operator AMG. A Met spokesperson subsequently confirmed that it "will be seeking a revocation of the licence."
O2 Academy Brixton initially closed in December after a crowd crush at the venue led to the deaths of two people, as well as critical injuries to a further person. In January, it was revealed that the gig venue would remain closed for a further three months, until April at least, while the Met and other bodies carried out their investigations around the incident.
AMG released a statement at the time saying it was "committed to understanding what happened and cooperating with the various investigations that are under way, including providing full cooperation to the police in the conduct of their inquiries."
A number of eyewitness and whistleblower reports have since emerged with some of from those who attended the gig on December 15 at which the crush took place saying security at the venue had been fairly lax on the night. Many of those inside said they believed the venue was over-capacity.
One witness, who asked not to be named, told The Guardian in December that the concert was "the most poorly organised thing I’ve seen," and added that there was no security there to [ask people to] form an orderly queue," referring to the crushing from the venue’s entrance that is believed to have caused the incident.
Earlier this month, Lambeth Council confirmed that it is "reviewing licensable activities at the venue." The next meeting addressing the situation will be held on May 15.
