Crane nightclub licence suspended for 28 days after Cody Fisher stabbing in Birmingham
ITV News Central's Callum Watkinson reports
Birmingham City Council has suspended the Crane Nightclub’s licence following a fatal stabbing there on Boxing Day.
The council’s licensing sub committee held an urgent meeting this morning to consider an application by West Midlands Police for the license to be suspended immediately pending a full review.
The force’s application stated that “the licensed premises have been associated with serious crime and disorder.”
Daniel Craig, representing the license holders, stated at the beginning of the meeting that his clients would not be opposing the application amidst what he called “horrific circumstances.”
Councillors took less than an hour to consider the police application and shut the nightclub down.
A full review hearing will take place within twenty eight days.
23-year-old Cody Fisher died after being stabbed at the club in Digbeth, Birmingham at around midnight on Boxing day.
West Midlands Police said there had been "serious management failings" at the Crane nightclub in Digbeth.
The force said Cody Fisher died during "a fight on the dancefloor" and officers who attended shortly before midnight on Boxing Day “described a scene of chaos and evidence of drug use within the premises”.
One sergeant’s account said the club’s security guards asked officers to help them with crowd control following the stabbing, while other "oblivious" staff members were "wandering around all over the place" and began cleaning up the crime scene.
"They have started to clean the dancefloor further down from where the deceased was; officers shouted at them to stop," the sergeant said.
"While officers are doing CPR, you can see people are just wandering around in the scene freely.
"As soon as we had more officers on the scene they were removed and the whole dancefloor was cordoned off and the area was made sterile.
"There were hundreds of small drugs bags and nitrous oxide canisters all over the dancefloor.
"These include the small and the very large nitrous oxide canisters with balloons."
West Midlands Police have arrested three men on suspicion of the murder of Cody Fisher.
A spokesperson for Crane said: "An expedited review of a premises licence is normal whenever any serious crime takes place at a licensed premises, and we are cooperating fully.
"We place the highest priority on all aspects of public safety and security.
"Whilst it would be wrong for us at this stage to react to individual, anecdotal accounts of the circumstances that applied on Boxing Day, we do employ extensive and professional security procedures for all public events, and our contracted security staff are professionals who are licensed by the SIA.
"But we will of course be conducting a full and detailed review in light of this week’s tragedy, as well as assisting fully with the ongoing police enquiry."