Source: STV News
A man allegedly drove his car at the doormen of a strip club in Edinburgh after they refused him entry to the bar.
The man had been drinking in various pubs in the area before trying to get into the Western Bar on West Port.
After being refused entry, he is said to have gone and got his car and drove it the wrong way down West Port towards the strip club before pointing it at the front door at around 6.15pm on December 12.
The man is then accused of driving his car at the doorway where a bouncer was standing, hitting the wall, before reversing into a parked BMW and aiming for the doorman again.
Door staff from nearby Burke and Hare saw what was happening and ran over and grabbed the keys from the driver. At this point, it is claimed the man got out and shouted homophobic insults at the manger of the Western Bar.
Police were called and the man was arrested. He was due to appear at Edinburgh Sheriff Court charged with drink driving, dangerous driving, assault and two breaches of the peace.
The incident came as part of the second week of a drink-driving crackdown by Scotland-wide police authority Acpos. In one week, 79 people were arrested for drink-driving and six for driving under the influence of drugs.
Deputy Chief Constable Tom Ewing said: "For a second week in our national campaign I have to report that dozens of drivers across Scotland have failed to heed the message about drink and drug driving.
"I have made it quite clear that every effort will be made by police officers and our partners in law enforcement to end this scourge. It is illegal, it is dangerous and it could be fatal. It is worth noting that there is a small decrease in the numbers compared to last year but that it no cause for celebration - the numbers are still unacceptable."
Anyone who suspects someone of driving while under the influence of drink and drugs is asked to contact Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111.
Source: S & B Media
A man who glassed a doorman at a Guildford wine bar has lost an appeal against his nine-year prison sentence.
Colin Burtenshaw, 29, left Christopher Smith with permanent scarring after smashing a glass into his face while drunk on a night out at Pews Bar, in Chapel Street, on December 9 last year.
He was jailed for nine years by Guildford Crown Court in April after being found guilty of wounding with intent to cause grievous bodily harm.
Mr Justice Leggatt told London's Appeal Court how Burtenshaw, of New Cross Road, Guildford, and his friends had been asked to leave the club by Mr smith after becoming "rowdy and aggressive".
When Mr Smith asked him to go, Burtenshaw responded by pushing him off balance and then smashing a glass into the bouncer's face.
He then struck out again, with the now broken edge, "directing an upward blow with the jagged glass".
When questioned by police, Burtenshaw, 29, said he was too drunk to recall the attack, the court heard.
Mr Smith needed 30 stitches for wounds which have caused permanent scars. He continues to struggle with acute depression and epileptic seizures and has been diagnosed as suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder.
Burtenshaw appealed against his sentence, which he claimed was "manifestly excessive", but the challenge was turned down by the court.
Mr Justice Leggatt, sitting with Lady Justice Rafferty and Mr Justice Globe, noted the ferocity of Burtenshaw's attack and its consequences.
The crime was committed in a "flash of temper", the judge conceded, but added Burtenshaw had used the broken glass "like a weapon". Despite evidence of remorse the nine-year sentence was justified, he concluded.
Source: Mancunian Matters
Drunks, on a whole, aren’t the easiest to deal with.
Regular witnesses of some of the basest aspects of human behaviour, the staff who keep the cogs of Britain’s bar and nightclub industry turning are the ones who have it the hardest.
National Doorwatch, an organisation which represents the interests of professional door supervisors, is campaigning to have the term ‘bouncer’ made obsolete.
They argue that the word, which they want removed from the dictionary, reinforces and perpetuates negative stereotypes.
“We want you to stop being a ‘bouncer’,” their website says.
“The label ‘bouncer’ dehumanizes you and says it is ok for you to be badly treated, by everyone.
“If you want to be abused, assaulted, arrested and/or imprisoned, then continue to be a ‘bouncer’.”
There’s no denying ‘bouncer’ has connotations, and it’s the image of megalomaniac, steroid-taking thugs who use their status to engage in unnecessary acts of brutality which is hard to shake.
Doormen are given a great deal of responsibility, and it’s not surprising that they are often terse at best.
From keeping tabs on crowd control, queue systems, fire regulations and club capacity through to dealing with overly intoxicated patrons and those trying to dodge age restrictions – the job is a necessary evil.
Don’t get me wrong, I’ve been party to doormen who in some instances have treated me far better than they could and should have.
From the burly Morrissey-alike who would regularly join me in a rendition of Ask or How Soon Is Now? to the gent who carried me over the heads of thousands of students to a first aider after I fainted in a hot and overcrowded nightclub, door staff regularly go beyond what is required of them.
But in the years I’ve been frequenting nightclubs, I’ve also been privy to behaviour from doormen which has shocked and frightened me.
I’ll never forget seeing a man who appeared genuinely sober trip down a few stairs and in several seconds be pinned to the ground, face down, by doormen who had their feet on his head.
Neither will the image of female students shoved forcibly to the floor by security staff during a dance floor brawl in which they had played no part disappear fast.
The Channel 4 reality show Bouncers reinforced this dichotomy: for every decent member of door personnel playing the peacekeeper there was another who appeared to overstep the mark.
So quibbles about bizarre dress codes, out-of-date student cards and sense of humour bypasses aside, somewhat unsavoury notions of the profession are still commonly held.
Anyone who goes to nightclubs has their own negative tale to tell, so how much has actually changed?
Is the stereotype really now completely displaced from the reality?
The Security Industry Authority, an independent organisation which regulate the UK’s private security staff and report to the Home Office, put their emphasis on professional licensing.
While they do check the criminal records of prospective staff before approving them for accreditation, their website places prominence on cracking down on those caught working without a license rather than on overseeing and regulating staff behaviour itself.
It’s comforting to know the system is far more monitored than in previous decades, but there seems very little scope for the public to address any grievances they might have with negative door staff conduct.
Nowhere is there the option to report aggressive or unlawful actions should approaching the nightclub manager or police have proved unsuccessful, which considering the intoxication levels of most punters if often the case.
Just a quick look online indicates there are many out there who feel they have not been given the opportunity to adequately air their condemnation at being ill-treated.
This insinuates that a minority of doormen could be routinely carrying out physical attacks on the public with scant justification, and without any real check holding them to account outside their own employers.
If the nightclub security industry is to really challenge the labels, they need to develop a system whereby the public can name and shame those who use excessive force.
Until this happens, negative stereotypes will abound – something which is an injustice to the majority of the profession.
Source: Northampton Chronicle
A man in a motorised wheelchair pulled a knife on a bouncer after trying to leave a town centre bar with a bottle of champagne, police said today.
Officers have appealed for information following the alleged affray, which took place outside the Panache club, in Bridge Street, Northampton, during the early hours of Saturday, November 24.
The incident happened between 1.40am and 2am, when the man tried to leave the club with a bottle of champagne.
A member of the club’s door staff told detectives the man produced a knife and threatened door staff with the weapon.
Police want to trace an independent witness, described as a white man, aged about 50 with a bald or shaven head. He was about 5ft 7ins tall, of medium build and was wearing a white-and-blue checked shirt and black trousers.
The offender is described as white, aged around 50, 6ft and of medium build. He had shaven grey hair and had a large tribal tattoo on his head.
He was wearing a white t-shirt, jeans and was sitting in a red motorised wheelchair.
The bouncer threatened by the man has contacted the Chron to say he was “shocked” the man had become so violent.
Tyrone Saxton said: “He tried to leave with a £40 bottle of champagne but he wasn’t allowed. He pulled the knife from underneath the chair and was saying ‘you can’t tell me what to do’.
“I was really shocked. I helped him at first to get into the club and I was kind to him but when he left he was a different man.”
Witnesses to this incident, or anyone with information, can call Northamptonshire Police on 101. Alternatively, information can be given anonymously to Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111.
Source: SIA
Door supervisors are being reminded that they may need to take additional training if they plan to renew their SIA licence.
From 4 February 2013, all door supervisors with a qualification obtained before summer 2010 will need to pass the new ‘Up-Skilling for Door Supervisors’ award before they are able to renew their SIA licence.
Tony Holyland, Development Manager (Competency) said:
“In the interest of public safety, additional training, which includes physical intervention, will be a compulsory requirement for anyone who has not already completed it when they renew their licence.
“Being trained in the appropriate techniques and how to use them will help door staff to manage difficult situations, minimising the risk of injury to members of the public and to themselves.
“Reminder letters are being sent to door supervisors whose licences are up for renewal and we encourage those requiring additional training to ensure they have obtained the qualifications.
Source: Isle of Man today
Distinctive armbands will soon become an essential part of the dress code for door staff employed at local pubs and nightclubs.
The intention is to enhance customer service and safety by making security personnel, commonly known as bouncers, more easily identifiable.
The fluorescent orange armbands, which will also hold door staff ID cards, are being supplied by the Isle of Man Constabulary’s Central Alcohol Unit, instead of the usual badge holders, at no cost.
This latest safety measure follows the launch of a training course at the College of Further and Higher Education to improve the skills of security staff working at licensed premises throughout the island.
Acting Sergeant Darren Bradford, of the Central Alcohol Unit, said: ‘The police, in partnership with the door security services and late night licensed premises, have led the drive, through the Licensing Forum, for the formalisation of all door staff wearing the new and distinctive orange armband.
‘The main beneficiaries will be people enjoying a night out. Anyone requiring assistance can now quickly and easily see someone they can turn to. The armbands also help to establish and reinforce the authority of the door staff, and allow easier identification of security personnel for police officers, for example when reviewing CCTV footage.’
The introduction of the armbands has been supported by the private security and licensing industries, working in conjunction with the Department of Home Affairs.
The bands are being distributed by the Central Alcohol Unit during official visits to pubs and nightclubs and will be a requirement for existing and new members of the door staff security register.
Peter Karran MHK, DHA member with responsibility for the Drug and Alcohol Strategy, said: ‘The new armbands will play a small but important part in helping people have an enjoyable and trouble-free night out. This is another positive collaboration between the public and private sectors.’
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Source: The Guardian
The statutory licensing of more than 330,000 individual private security workers is to be scrapped under a shakeup of the regulation of the industry proposed by Home Office ministers, reports the Guardian.
They are instead proposing that private security companies regulate their own staff, with the industry’s watchdog, the Security Industry Authority, moved into the private sector.
Ministers say the phased move to a “business regulation regime” reflects the “maturity of the private security industry” and supports its willingness to take on further responsibility and be more accountable for its actions.
The new regime will shift responsibility for the standards and behaviour of security staff from the SIA to an estimated 4,200 businesses operating in Britain.
This will leave the regulator with the task of targeting companies or employees that fail to meet the required standards with a range of penalties from banning a company from the industry to criminal prosecution. Companies rather than the regulator will in future be responsible for carrying out checks on individual security staff.
The move will involve the repeal of 2001 legislation, which was introduced following concern about widespread criminality among nightclub bouncers and contract security guards. When licensing was first introduced it covered 130,000 individuals. This has now mushroomed to 330,000 private security staff in a wide range of roles, from escorting failed asylum seekers abroad to running police stations.
The minister for criminal information, Lord Taylor of Holbeach, said reform of the industry would improve transparency and accountability. “Our plans will raise standards and free up the SIA to concentrate on stamping out poor business practices and criminality.
“It is also important that legitimate businesses are not overburdened by government regulation and red tape. By lowering the cost of regulation on the industry, savings can be passed on to customers.”
Ministers said that many of the proposed changes can be done without primary legislation but they hope to have the rest of the powers on the statute book by next October. An official consultation will run over the next eight weeks.
Lady Henig, the chairman of the SIA, is due to step down in January, after six years in the role
Source: Info4Security
Industry Qualifications, the first pan-sector mutual awarding organisation in the UK, has announced the accreditation of the IQ Level 2 Industry Award in Healthcare Security (Top Up).
The ‘Top Up’ qualification is the first of a suite of three that will together "create a new benchmark training standard for healthcare security officers" and "answer the need for nationally approved training specific to the role".
The 'Top Up' programme has been designed to avoid an expensive overlap of training, offering those who are already Security Industry Authority (SIA) qualified to 'up-skill' to the new training standard without having to undertake the ‘full’ programme.
The 'full’ programme for healthcare security officers will incorporate the ‘Top Up’ training and also meet the criteria set by the SIA for security guarding and door supervision licence linked training, bringing it into line with existing recognised occupational standards.
For its part, the ‘full’ programme includes optional training in protective breakaway skills, physical intervention skills (holding, escorting and disengagement) and physical restraint (on a bed, a trolley and on the floor).
The physical intervention training will equip healthcare security officers with the practical skills needed to carry out Criminal Justice and Immigration Act (CJIA)-focused role responsibilities and ensure appropriate use of their powers.
The new qualification is endorsed by the National Association for Healthcare Security (NAHS).
24/7 'eyes and ears on the ground'
Welcoming the qualification, the NAHS' chairman Peter Finch CSyP said: “We're delighted to have been involved with the development of this training package. Our security officers are our 24/7 'eyes and ears on the ground' and it's essential that they're appropriately trained to protect our facilities and staff from terrorism and other crime. This qualification will go some way towards achieving that aim.”
Richard Hampton of NHS Protect added: “The scope of the new 'Top Up' programme highlights the knowledge and professional capabilities currently required of healthcare security officers. I hope the training contributes to making their work safer.”
Programme creator Jim O’Dwyer of AEGIS said: “The new ‘Top Up’ training comprehensively reflects the complexity and diversity of a healthcare security officer role and the broad range of security tasks, duties and responsibilities it entails. I'm very grateful to all the NAHS officials who contributed, and I’m looking forward to the ‘roll out’ of the 'full' programme.”
The head of business development at Industry Qualifications is Sallyann Baldry, who commented: “The introduction of qualifications to improve standards with a real focus on patient-centred practice which will reduce the risk of assault for those working in healthcare is to be welcomed. There's an ever-increasing need to recognise the skills and knowledge of professionals working within the healthcare community which often go unrewarded."
Baldry stated that IQ is delighted to be at the forefront of supporting the Continuing Professional Development needs of over 15,000 security personnel in healthcare settings from acute, mental and general hospitals to nursing, residential and day care establishments.
Source: SIA
Highfield Awarding Body for Compliance (HABC) has withdrawn a number of certificates awarded via training providers Get Licensed and Adult Learning Network Ltd (who previously operated as AAB Training) following an investigation into training malpractice.
HABC has withdrawn the physical intervention unit that applicants took to gain the Level 2 Award in Door Supervision, making the qualification invalid.
In total, 1,001 certificates that were awarded to candidates registered with the two centres have been withdrawn. Of these qualifications, 654 had been used to obtain an SIA licence. The SIA has written to licence holders to explain that they have a 28 day period to gain a valid qualification or their licence will be revoked.
Dave Humphries, Director Compliance, Intelligence and Communication said:
"The SIA, our awarding organisation partners and the qualifications regulator Ofqual take malpractice issues around training very seriously. These allegations came to light earlier this year that suggested that training providers Get Licensed and ALN were involved in malpractice between October 2010 and February 2011.
Whilst training malpractice is not endemic, this recent investigation demonstrates that we will not allow people to think that they can get away with it."
Jason Sprenger, HABC Chief Executive said:
"HABC received allegations of malpractice within ALN, AAB Training and Get Licensed. Upon receipt of the allegations, we carried out a full and thorough investigation in partnership with the SIA. This included analysis of test papers and interviews with tutors and learners. We found substantiated evidence of malpractice and consequently withdrew more than 1,000 HABC Level 2 Awards in Door Supervision across all three organisations.
"HABC is firmly committed to ensuring the integrity of our qualifications is maintained at all times and takes any abuse very seriously. We will not hesitate to take immediate and proportionate action against any centre found to be actively participating in malpractice."
HABC has set up a helpline for the affected learners. The telephone number is 01302 363 154. SIA licence holders must correspond with the SIA; if they do not their licence may be revoked.
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You can read the press release from Get Licensed here
Source: Lancashire Telegraph
One of two men involved in trouble when a doorman was told he would be shot and killed has been jailed for 43 weeks.
Doorman Mr Imtiaz Ahmed had also been told he would be stabbed after a group of men were thrown out of a Burnley nightclub, the town's crown court heard.
Mr Ahmed was said to have been confronted by two men, one of them hooded and the other armed with what he thought were a knife and a cosh.
The man with the blade, Foyzul Hoque, ran off and tried to escape from the police, but was arrested and was found to have a chisel and a tool on him.
The hearing was told Mr Ahmed had believed the pair had returned to the club to carry out their threats and police had immediately been alerted.
Jobless Hoque, who had been drinking, made no comment to questions when quizzed officers. He had earlier been convicted in his absence after a trial before Burnley magistrates, of using threatening, abusive or insulting words or behaviour and possessing a bladed article.
The defendant, 20, of Fifth Avenue, Burnley, had then been arrested on warrant and brought before the justices. He was committed in custody to be sentenced at the crown court and was locked up by Judge Graham Knowles, QC.
The magistrates had earlier heard that in the early hours of April 13, Mr Ahmed was working at Lava and Ignite and ejected a woman and a group of men to prevent further trouble, after they had been arguing.
Mr Ahmed was verbally abused and the pair were aggressive and threatened they would come back and shoot him and were going to ‘stab him up’. The victim notified CCTV operators, police were called and the men moved on.
The hearing was told at about 4.15am, Mr Ahmed was still at work when he saw the two men returning to the club.
One was hooded and kept saying he was going to stab Mr Ahmed and kill him. Mr Ahmed was alarmed and again contacted the CCTV operators.
Source: Leicester Mercury
A nightclubber has been ordered to pay £500 compensation to a bouncer he knocked unconscious.
Markell Clarke (22) admitted causing actual bodily harm to the doorman outside the Hush nightclub, Albion Street, Leicester, at 2.20am on January 29.
CCTV footage was shown at Leicester Crown Court.
Ben Gow, prosecuting, said Clarke and others were refused entry because the club was full.
People were getting annoyed and began arguing with the doormen.
Clarke and others went round the back to try and get in another way, but a few minutes later Clarke returned to the main entrance.
Footage showed him launching an unprovoked attack on a doorman, who was felled by a single blow.
Mr Gow said other door staff picked up the unconscious victim and carried him inside.
Clarke, of Leicester, was given a 12-month jail sentence, suspended for a year and was ordered to pay compensation.
Co-accused Tobias Hawkins (21), who was queuing outside, also became involved. He picked up a barrier rope.
Mr Gow said: “We can see Hawkins throwing it at the police officers as they arrived and it hit one of them on the leg.
“He also kicked out at an officer when he was arrested.”
Hawkins, of Severn Street, Highfields, admitted causing an affray. He was fined £250.
Andrew Fryman, mitigating for Clarke, said: “It wasn’t premeditated and was over very quickly and no serious injury was caused.”
David Baird, for Hawkins, said: “He got caught up in the incident.
“He’s not a big drinker. He had had a drink and was the worse for wear.
Source: The Independent
G4S has lost its contract to run Yorkshire’s Wold prison, and has failed to win any of the additional prison contracts it was bidding for, reports the Independent.
The firm, whose shambolic organisation of the London 2012 Olympic security led to the Armed Forces being called in to cover a lack of guards, will stop running the jail in July next year, with it returning to the public sector immediately after.
G4S has run the category C training prison, which holds up to 395 men, since it opened in 1992.
As well as losing the Wold contract, G4S also missed out on the opportunity to run Northumberland, Lindholme, Hatfield and Moorland prisons.
The competition process to run the four prisons will now move to the final stage, with contracts likely to be awarded next spring, the Ministry of Justice said.
The three remaining bidders are Sodexo, Serco and MTC/Amey.
The MoJ said the competition process “produced a compelling package of reforms for delivering cost reduction, improvements to regimes and a working prisons model in these prisons.”
But this was not the case for G4S-run Wolds prison; Coldingley prison in Surrey; Onley in Northamptonshire, or Durham jail.
The ministry also said it has found “further and faster ways of securing future cost reductions”, with all public sector prisons “obliged to make additional efficiency savings”.
Collective savings will also be made by putting services such as maintenance and resettlement services out to competition, the MoJ said.
Overall these changes should save £450 million over the next six years, the MoJ estimated.
Justice Secretary Chris Grayling said: “The cost of running our prisons is too high and must be reduced.
”We can do this by being more innovative and efficient, and without compromising public safety.
“That is why I have decided to take a new approach to how we compete prison services and reduce unit costs across the prison estate that will lead to better value for the tax-payer, linked to more effective services to reduce reoffending.
”This is a challenge the public sector must rise to. The approach I am announcing today does not rule out further prison-by-prison competitions in the future”.
Source: The Voice
Four years after a doorman was shot and killed outside a bar in east London, police have renewed their search for a young black man as their main suspect.
INFORMATION: Police are keen to trace the suspect, seen here wearing a grey hooded top, in connection with the shooting in 2008
Syed Mehdi, 23, was shot outside the Blue Ice Bar in Cranbrook Road in Ilford on Saturday March 1, 2008 where he was working as a doorman.
Officers have today released moving CCTV footage of the suspect, who they believe is between 17 and 25, and three potential witnesses they are still keen to trace.
Mr Mehdi, a Pakistani national living in the Ilford area, suffered wounds to the front of his body. His condition deteriorated and he died at 12.45am on March 5, 2008.
Two other men were taken by the ambulance service to the Royal London Hospital suffering gunshot wounds – one, aged 37, received wounds to the back of his body and was treated and discharged.
The footage shows the suspect walking close to the bar shortly before the shooting. He stopped three men as they walked along Cranbrook Road, close to Ilford train station, approximately 150 yards from the Blue Ice Bar.
He spoke to them - possibly to ask for directions - before walking back towards the bar.
The suspect, who was wearing a grey hooded top, black jeans, black shoes with white laces and carrying a bag across his chest, is then seen on the footage putting his hood up near a cashpoint.
He is then seen approaching the victims on foot before firing shots from a handgun. He ran off towards Ilford High Street.
The area was busy and residents would have seen and heard activity.
A £20,000 reward remains on offer for information leading to the identification, arrest and prosecution of the suspect.
Anyone with information is asked to please call the Trident incident room on 020 8733 4704; if you wish to remain anonymous ring Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111.
Three men have been arrested and released with no further action.
Source: Derby Telegraph
A jail sentence hangs over a boozy binman who twice butted a Matlock bouncer in a racist attack.
Kevin Rawsthorne had appeared drunk when he arrived at the Railway Hotel on but he was allowed in because he was with two regulars who seemed quite sober.
His drink was taken off him at 11.45pm after staff saw him bumping into customers and rubbing himself against someone, Chesterfield magistrates heard.
Rawsthorne, 37, was told he would not be served again and he became argumentative.
As he was being ejected he butted doorman David Hanson on the forehead, knocking him backwards.
Becky Mahon, prosecuting, said: "The complainant asked what that was for and Rawsthorne replied: 'I'll show you' and head-butted him a second time."
The court was told that the defendant then stumbled downstairs and shouted racial abuse at Mr Hanson.
Police arrived and Rawsthorne again referred to Mr Hanson in racist terms while officers took his details.
The court heard that the defendant suffered a cut to his own forehead but his victim was unhurt.
Rawsthorne, of Netherfield Close, Matlock, admitted a charge of racially-aggravated assault on September 2.
The married father-of-four had previously been convicted and cautioned for offences involving violence.
The court heard that he had a drink problem and been suffering from stress.
He denied having racist attitudes but he "understands what he has done was wrong," said his solicitor, Denney Lau.
Deputy District Judge Richardson imposed a 16-week jail term but suspended it for a year.
He also gave Rawsthorne a 12-month probation supervision order, including alcohol abuse counselling, 60 hours of unpaid work and banned him from the Railway Hotel for two years.
Rawsthorne must pay £150 compensation to Mr Hanson, with £85 costs.
Source: Evening Gazette
A father and son who viciously beat a doorman at a Teesside pub are today starting prison sentences totalling more than 11 years.
The doorman was punched, beaten with a pool cue and stamped on as he tried to get away and defend himself.
Paul Leather, 45, was jailed for five years and nine months, and his son Aaron Leather, 22, jailed for five-and-a-half years for the joint attack.
Judge Howard Crowson said the doorman was going about his normal business closing up the pub when Aaron Leather confronted him threateningly.
Aaron was then joined by his dad, Paul, at the Tap and Spile pub in Guisborough.
When the doorman turned to close a door, he was punched in the face and knocked into the pool room.
The ensuing assault was captured on CCTV cameras in the pub on Westgate on June 17.
The judge said: “He was pursued as he retreated across the room towards the pool table.
“It seems to me very clear that you, Aaron Leather, reached quickly for a pool cue.”
He said the victim put his head down, fearing attack, and also took a cue, holding it as a barrier to defend himself as he backed into a corner.
The judge told Aaron Leather: “You held your cue more like a baseball bat, with the heavy end as the club end and the thin end as the handle.”
Aaron dropped the cue, only for his father Paul to pick up a piece of pool cue and use it to strike the doorman as Aaron pulled him around the room.
“There were a great many blows delivered,” said Judge Crowson at Teesside Crown Court yesterday.
The violence burst through a fire door into a courtyard or beer garden, and the doorman continued to be hit. He also said he was stamped on.
At the end of the onslaught, the pub landlord came in.
He too was punched as the two assailants tried to “persuade” him to let them escape through a back door.
The doorman was left with four cuts to his scalp, bruising, a black right eye, and pain and tenderness to his wrists.
“The injuries could have been a great deal worse,” added the judge.
He said the men had been drinking that night and didn’t go there intent on causing trouble, but violence erupted out of “lingering resentment” from years earlier.
He accepted that they both showed truthful remorse in letters they’d written to him.
The Guisborough father and son admitted unlawful wounding, but denied wounding with intent to cause grievous bodily harm.
After a trial, a jury convicted both Paul, of Woodhouse Road, and Aaron, of Auckland Street, of the more serious charge last month.
Both had previous convictions - Aaron for fighting in Redcar, Paul for 65 offences stretching back as far as the 1980s.
Rod Hunt, defending Aaron, said the otherwise hard-working responsible member of the community had reflected on what he did and put himself in the victim’s shoes.
He admitted he “lost control and did not consider the consequences of his actions” and knew drink was his downfall.
Now Aaron would miss the birth of his first child. “That’s a stigma he will bear for the rest of his life,” said Mr Hunt.
Peter Makepeace, for Paul, said he didn’t start it and was pushing his son away at the end. His last conviction for violence was 11 years ago.
Paul was the principal carer for an elderly relative who would also feel the impact of the court’s sentence, it was said.
A woman who identified herself as the manager of the Tap and Spile, but who asked not to be named, said: “I think the sentences are fair enough and justice has been done.”
Source: Boston Standard
A stream of racist abuse directed at a Portuguese man in a nightclub came forth as a result of alcohol, a court was told last week.
David Suller claimed his actions against a doorman at the Bluu nightclub were ‘completely out of character’ and motivated entirely by alcohol.
The 34-year-old pleaded guilty to causing racially aggravated distress through words on September 23 when he appeared at Boston Magistrates’ Court on Wednesday.
Rebecca Ritson, prosecuting, told the court that door staff had been called to eject Suller from the Bridge Street club as he was ‘very much in drink’, but when they asked him to leave he unleashed a torrent of abuse at one of the men.
Ms Ritson added: “They asked him to leave and he asked why and then started swearing.”
Suller, of Windsor Bank, Boston, swore repeatedly at the Portuguese man, calling him a Kurd and also a Turk.
At one point he told him to ‘go and make a kebab’, and continued to make references of this sort even after the man pointed out he was a Portuguese national, Ms Ritson said.
She added: “He said it was all directed at him because of his accent and the colour of his skin.
“He said he has never been spoken to like this before and nobody had the right to speak to him in this manner.”
In police interview, he said he accepted he had been drunk and had been asked to leave the club, but not that he had made racist remarks.
Suller was not represented by a solictor, but he told magistrates: “It’s compeltely out of character and it was all to do with drink. I apologise.”
The bench ordered him to pay a £130 fine and £100 compensation, as well as £85 court costs and a £15 victim surcharge.
Source: Surrey Advertiser
A doorman scarred for life when he was assaulted while working in a Guildford bar has spoken of his relief after his attacker was jailed.
Chris Smith, who celebrates his 29th birthday this weekend, was at Guildford Crown Court last Thursday to see Colin Burtenshaw, 29, jailed for nine years for striking him twice in the face with a pint glass in Pews Wine Bar, on Chapel Street.
Burtenshaw, of New Cross Road, Guildford, pleaded guilty to unlawful wounding but denied intent to cause grievous bodily harm but was convicted following the three-day trial.
Nearly a year has passed since the incident, during which time Chris has returned to his pharmaceutical recruitment job and to the door as he gradually puts the incident behind him.
He paid tribute to his family, friends, colleagues at Pews and DGL security services, and Surrey Police officers, who he said could not have handled the situation better.
“I’m over the moon that it’s finally over and I can move on,” he said. “The last year has been horrendous - emotionally and physically draining.
“It’s been hard to focus on work and it took me six months to return to my job at Pews. Even now I’m extremely cautious. I just want to forget about it.”
Following the assault, Chris had 30 stitches inserted around his face, some above his left eye and on his left cheek, and said he was lucky not to have lost his eye.
With the burden of the court case over, Chris has been concentrating on moving into and decorating a new house as more positive tasks at last begin to take his focus away from the likes of hospital appointments and giving evidence.
However, the effects of the incident still linger, and he is due to discuss plastic surgery options with doctors in the coming weeks.
Reflecting on the moment the guilty verdict and sentence were read out in court, Chris said he had felt surprise and relief, but also sympathy for some of Burtenshaw's family members who were also present and who must also now come to terms with it.
“I did feel for them as they seemed to be devastated by the verdict,” he said. “But at the end of the day he did what he did and he has to live with the consequences, same as I do.
“The one positive I can draw from it is that it will hopefully act as a deterrent to others from committing such acts, especially in the run up to Christmas when people start to come out for parties and in bigger groups.
“Door staff are there to do their job, not to make someone's night a misery. When we ask customers to leave, it’s for a valid reason and it’s not personal. I hope everyone will realise this now.”
Source: Yorkshire Post
Jimmy Saville used his burgeoning wealth and reputation to cover up alleged sex attacks on underage girls while manager of a Leeds dance hall more than half a century ago, a former doorman has claimed.
Leeds pensioner Dennis Lemmon, 80, who was a door supervisor at the Mecca Locarno Ballroom during the late 1950s while Savile was manager, said he was told he “paid off” families to escape criminal charges of interfering with young girls.
The latest damning allegations come as Scotland Yard says it is pursuing 340 lines of inquiry in the Savile abuse case, with 12 allegations of sexual offences officially recorded and the number increasing all the time.
Metropolitan Police detectives are in contact with 14 other forces as the number of allegations against the former DJ continues to rise.
Mr Lemmon, who was regularly requested to accompany Savile on his walkabouts around the dance hall, said he first heard of the allegations in 1958.
“The first inkling I got of it was when I was told he was going to be up in court,” he told the Yorkshire Post.
“After that I got told he paid them off. I assumed it was the families. Before that there had been no rumours about him.
“I started thinking back to all the times I was walking around with Jimmy. He always did seem to end up with the younger-age girls.”
Savile was manager of the Mecca Locarno Ballroom before launching his media career, and put on lunchtime discos which were regularly attended by schoolchildren and office workers as well as a Saturday afternoon dance for youngsters only.
Police now admit Jimmy Savile’s alleged catalogue of abuse could have spanned six decades and included around 60 victims.
The Department of Health (DoH) has also now been dragged into the scandal over its decision to appoint Savile to lead a “taskforce” at Broadmoor, one of the hospitals where the celebrity allegedly abused patients, as well as Leeds General Infirmary and Stoke Mandeville in Buckinghamshire.
The department will carry out an investigation into how he was given the position while Ken Clarke was Health Secretary in 1988. The DoH could be sued by victims as it was running the psychiatric hospital at the time, it has been claimed.
In a statement, a DoH spokesman said: “We will investigate the Department of Health’s conduct in apparently appointing Savile to this role.”
MPs have led the condemnation of Savile in the face of the latest revelations.
Leeds MP Fabian Hamilton said Savile had gone from being seen as a saint to Satan by his constituents.
“A year ago I tabled an early day motion in the House of Commons, praising Savile’s work and the money he raised for charity,” he said. “Like so many thousands of people in my constituency and throughout the country, it just makes you feel really foolish for putting him up on that pedestal in the first place.”
Savile’s former employers, the BBC, have been sucked into the scandal after it emerged Newsnight abandoned an investigation into alleged abuse. The organisation has also come under fire for failing to take action over the Jim’ll Fix It presenter’s behaviour on its premises and is accused of having turned a blind eye to inappropriate behaviour by headline celebrities.
On Friday, BBC director-general George Entwistle offered a “profound and heartfelt apology” to the alleged victims of Savile’s sexual abuse as he announced that two inquiries would be launched.
One will look into whether there were any failings over the handling of the abandoned Newsnight piece, while a second independent inquiry will look into the “culture and practices of the BBC during the years Jimmy Savile worked here”.
Alec Shelbrooke, the Conservative MP for Elmet and Rothwell, yesterday said: “The BBC needs a full independent investigation and anyone found wanting no matter how famous, must be prosecuted.
“The same applies to the police, hospitals and charities. Why were investigations dropped or not carried out? People are responsible.”
Mr Shelbrooke also called for all references to Savile in public places to be dropped and his body moved to an anonymous grave.
Source: Guildford People
A violent thug who glassed a doorman in the face when he was asked to leave a wine bar in Guildford has been jailed.
Colin Burtenshaw, of Guildford, was jailed for nine years for causing grievous bodily harm and wounding with intent.
The 29-year-old appeared at Guildford Crown Court on Thursday (October 4) where he was found guilty of the offence in which the 28-year-old victim suffered serious facial injuries.
The incident, which has left the employee of the town centre wine bar with life changing injuries, happened at the premise in Chapel Street on Friday, 9 December last year. The doorman had requested Burtenshaw leave the bar because of his unacceptable behaviour and as a direct result of this intervention was smashed in the face with a glass.
Detective Constable Russell Cannon investigating officer said: "The sentence reflects the severity of this totally unprovoked crime in which an employee who was carrying out his usual duties was lucky not to have lost an eye and was left with severe facial injuries, which have had a long term impact on his life."
Source: Metro
A Manchester Airport security worker has been suspended after she failed to notice a fake bomb on an X-ray machine.
The Department for Transport (DfT) carries out regular undercover security tests using dummy explosive devices to check how well systems are working at UK airports.
On this occasion, the guard did not spot the package as it moved through the air-side area of the airport, meaning it could have made its way on to a plane.
A spokesman for Manchester Airport said: 'We can confirm a security officer has been suspended but we cannot comment further as there is an ongoing investigation.'
The DfT confirmed it operates a covert testing programme that involves officials posing as passengers or cabin crew to assess how effective security checks at airports are.
A spokesman said: 'The safety of the travelling public is paramount, which is why the UK combines intelligence, technology and other measures to provide one of the strictest regimes for aviation security in the world.
'We have a regular programme of inspections to ensure compliance with this regime, but do not comment on the specifics or outcomes for obvious reasons.'
The effectiveness of Manchester Airport's security arrangements was questioned in July, after 11-year-old Liam Corcoran was able to board a plane and fly to Rome, despite not having a ticket or passport.
Source: Liverpool Echo
Former nightclub doorman John Brum tells Ben Rossington about his time at the Coconut Grove and his plans for a book
I didn’t know who Bob Geldof was. To me he was just some scruffy scallywag and he wasn’t coming in past me dressed like that...”
‘Sir Bob’ certainly wasn’t the only person to have fallen foul of John Brum during his time running the door of Liverpool’s famous, or infamous, Coconut Grove nightclub.
Now 70, in his heyday ‘Brummie’, as he is more commonly known, was a giant of a man and getting past him into ‘the Cokey’ was an art form in itself.
He was the first head doorman at the legendary Tuebrook venue and, now retired, has turned his attention to putting his many memories onto paper for a forthcoming book.
Brummie landed in Liverpool from his native West Midlands at the age of 20 in the early 1960s – “There was a girl. A lovely Liverpool girl.” – and learned his trade on the door of The Bobbins theatre club in Window Lane, Garston before his reputation saw him called in to sort out some trouble in Bootle.
“I was drafted into The Norseman, in Bankfield Street. I fitted the bill of what they needed and within six months I was managing the place but I never moved from my spot off the door.
“Seamen from all over the world came there. It was a rough club, full of rogues that attracted more rogues. It got eventful to say the least.
“It was a workers’ club and the dockers were a fantastic lot but it was a den of thieves. Men would walk in looking like they weighed 20 stone but by the time they’d taken all the stuff they’d nicked off the boats out of their pockets and sold it off they were scrawny as anything.
“We got shot at once – it missed. You had to fend off hammers, knives, pick-axe handles. If the local hard cases could hold it, you had to fight it. It was all in a day’s work.”
It was one of Brummie’s door scuffles that eventually put an end to his time at The Norseman in the mid-70s.
Taking a kick off a woman he was trying to help – “she had these great clodhoppers on and whacked me in the leg” – he developed a blood clot which entered his lung.
After a near-death experience and weeks in hospital, he went off on a six-week holiday to America that turned into a year-long stay.
Eventually homesickness brought the family home and soon Brummie was opening up a new club – the Coconut Grove.
Asked by Bobbie ‘Bob The Dog’ McGorran – “not a man you say ‘no’ to” – Brummie says: “The Cokey was a beautiful place. We made it into a wanted commodity. We knocked people back in corduroy jeans when everyone was wearing them, made it feel like you needed a letter from the Holy Ghost to get in on a Sunday.
“The first night was magical. Whenever you open up a new club you’ve got that tingle. You think it’s going to last forever. The atmosphere was special – it showed us what it could be like, and it was up to us to keep it that way.
“If you got past us on the door then past the woman on the till you’d almost made it inside. You just had to throw a coin in the big clam shell before you were properly in.
“It started off as a bit of a gimmick – we put it next to the door and people started chucking money in like a wishing well so we made it our charity box. There was £3.50 in it after the first night but one year we gave £22,000 to different hospitals.
“It was a great thing that happened at the Cokey. Sure, it had its fair share of trouble but it was the place to be and it could be brilliant.
“We built up its reputation by taking a chance and knocking everyone back for a couple of nights. We didn’t let anyone in.
“We even put an ad in the ECHO saying it was sold out, so don’t even bother coming down.
“And there’s me actually knocking around in this empty club with all the staff thinking I’m off my head.
“But when we opened up the next night, the queues were massive. Thinking they were missing out on something made people want to come and they kept on coming.
“At that point there was something like 240 clubs in the city – you had to do something different to get the punters through the door.
“When Michael Jackson played Aintree in 1988 we shelled out to hire a plane and flew a banner over the crowd that said ‘Dirty Di is going to the Cokey’ (after Jackson’s song Dirty Diana from his Bad album). You couldn’t move in the place that night.
“We always tried to do things right. People knew you couldn’t gob off at us on the door and you had to be dressed right.
“Once I knocked back Bob Geldof and the rest of the Boomtown Rats because they turned up wearing what I thought was pyjamas.
“I didn’t know who they were and they weren’t coming in dressed like that.
“People later told me who I’d just turned away. I just thought they were a load of scallywags but they came back all properly dressed and there wasn’t a problem. It felt like they were there every night for a fortnight after that.”
By the late 1980s, the club scene in England had changed forever. With the influx of house music came the problems of clubland drugs.
“When we first opened, people came to party and attend the events we put on but it later changed to people wanting big bass and to throw something down their throats. I didn’t think it would last but it has.
“As much [drugs] as we stopped on the door, others managed to get it in. The dealers started wanting in on the scene and by the end of my time we had 22 doormen on.
“Punters were different in those days. You had your gangs and your drugs but it was all poppers and cannabis back then.
“And fights were one-on-one, not large groups having a go at the door like now, all off their heads on whatever and trying to maim you.”
Brummie left the Coconut Grove and started at Ferrari’s, in Huyton, where he rubbed shoulders with visiting celebs such as Mr T and Tom Jones.
And Liverpool legend Jan Molby was a regular, bringing with him the trophies the team won in the 80s to show off.
Brummie says: “I’m putting it all in a book because as I’ve got older I’ve realised how many stories there are.
“I loved Liverpool and it was good to me. There’s no place quite like it.”
Brummie’s book ‘The Storyteller’ is set to be out next year.
Starting Monday, don’t miss our week-long series on the city’s famous nightclubs.
Source: SIA
The SIA are aware of a company claiming to offer free door supervisor training, a free SIA door supervisor licence, and the offer of employment. On application, the company asks for the applicant to pay £50 towards the cost of a criminal record check.
Please be cautious of any company which asks you to pay money up front when offering employment. Your payment may not be protected and you may lose your money.
Please Note:
The SIA does not issue ‘SIA Student Cards’ or ‘SIA Trainee Cards’.
The cost of a criminal record check is included in the SIA licence application fee. It is the SIA that carries out the criminal records check for licence applicants.
To apply for an SIA door supervisor licence an applicant must have completed an approved training course and attained a recognised qualification.
If you are looking for a training company that offers the door supervisor training, we recommend that you use the list on the SIA website.
If you are unsure about a training company, check the company with the qualification awarding body that oversees the training company; such as Edexel or HABC etc.
Before parting with any money, or making a payment at a PayPoint, check that the company is genuine, check that it exists, check that the address is real.
Source: Northampton Chronicle
Police say bouncers and door staff in pubs and clubs in Northampton town centre are helping the fight against night-time violence.
As part of the force’s Operation Challenge, which aims to reduce violence, police officers and the officials from the SIA (Security Industry Authority) visited premises in the town centre to check compliance and to highlight the campaign.
In Northampton, seven bars were visited and all 26 door supervisors checked held a valid SIA licence.
District commander Chief Inspector Chris Hillery said: “I was really pleased with the positive response from door supervisors and licensees on Saturday night. We saw real support for Operation Challenge and it gave us the opportunity to further engage them in our initiative to prevent and reduce the risk of alcohol-related violence.”
He added: “People who have had a lot to drink can become more aggressive and potentially an offender of violent crime, but can also become more vulnerable, therefore increasing the chances of their becoming a victim.
“So as well as tackling violence robustly using the powers at our disposal, such as making arrests and issuing dispersal notices, we work with partners, such as the Street Pastors and pubs and clubs, to keep people safe.
“I know of various occasions, for example, where door staff have taken action to ensure the safety of vulnerable people - by either calling us or speaking with an officer or Street Pastor on the ground or making sure that the individual is taken home by friends.
“We’ve also been highlighting the implications of getting involved in alcohol-related crime and disorder to encourage people to stop and think about the consequences of their behaviour.”
Source: The Star
A far cry from the films.
For most of us, the idea of a bodyguard is Kevin Costner or the mysterious well-heeled men who are always at the edge of the red carpet.
But the suited-and-booted celebrity appearances are only one part of a bodyguard’s job, as Alan Hamilton from Worksop-based close protection company Greymen Security Solutions, explains.
“There are thorough risk assessments for every job,” he says. “You have to identify the perceived risks and the actual risks and plan accordingly. You see bodyguards on TV following a celebrity from A to B and it looks like they just stand there, but there is a lot of preparation.”
It is not hard to see why Alan and his colleagues at Greymen have to be so careful. The team’s combined clientele have included Bill Clinton, the Dalai Lama, members of the royal family, John Travolta, Tom Cruise, Lionel Richie, Katherine Jenkins and the Saudi royal family.
The status of the client, or ‘principle’ as the industry calls them, together with the threat assessment determines the operation’s ‘alert’ level.
Alan says: “There are different levels of risk and it’s about recognising what’s occurring. You have to be dynamic. You have to always keep your mind active, continually scanning around the environment you’re in.”
But, in spite of their celebrity or political status, Alan says most of their clients are gracious and appreciative.
“They’re always grateful to the close protection team and the effort we put into protecting them,” he says.
But, he says, Hollywood’s portrayal of bodyguards, such as Kevin Costner in The Bodyguard could not be further from the truth.
“Hollywood has ruined it for our profession,” says Alan. “On films what we do is portrayed as sexy – some of it is – but the planning and preparation that’s involved is completely overlooked. Brains are more important than brawn.
“We check out the location first, introduce ourselves, run intelligence checks to see whether they have any identifiable enemies and also check all the routes against their schedules and whether there are any ambush points.
“We have to assess the building too – whether it’s a public building or a hotel, for example, and whether they will also have a private room or area to themselves downstairs.
“Sometimes you can be up all night when you have to make amendments to a route or a plan and only get a few hours’ sleep and the principle wakes up all bright-eyed and bushy tailed with no idea of the preparation you’ve been doing.
“You are constantly assessing the situation.”
But the celebrity clientele means that Alan has to remain tight-lipped about the events and some of the other people he and his colleagues have accompanied.
“We have to respect client confidentiality – you never disrespect that. If you repeat conversations you’d be finished in this business,” he says.
Alan is used to the stressful world of close-call security.
He worked as an inspector for Nottinghamshire Police and later became a temporary chief inspector. He was also the force’s lead for drugs and offender management, representing the force at the Association Of Chief Police Officers (ACPO) and Home Office levels.
Some of the other ‘Grey Men’ were active in anti-terrorist and close protection units during and following the Troubles in Northern Ireland.
Alan says: “Certainly the close protection side of the Troubles involved them in the protection of government ministers and high-profile politicians.
“One was the personal bodyguard for three consecutive secretaries of state, John Reid now Lord Reid, Paul Murphy and Peter Hain. That says something about the quality of that protection officer.”
But it was dangerous work. During the Troubles, security staff were under constant threat.
“In situations like that, protection officers are dealing with professional terrorists – they are under constant threat, even when off duty,” says Alan.
But that is not a healthy way to live.
“You can’t be on red alert all the time, you’d burn out,” he says.
“When the protection officers are, themselves, under threat, you just have to be your own bodyguard.”
Source: Northern Echo
A north east nightclub is again embroiled in controversy following claims that a group of military policemen were sworn at and refused entry for being in the Armed Forces – two years after a similar incident.
An investigation is under way at Inside Out, in Darlington, after soldiers based at Catterick Garrison, North Yorkshire, said they were turned away because door staff mistook them for troublemakers.
Last night, pub management denied the club operated a “no Armed Forces” policy and insisted the venue was no different to others in the town.
The club was drawn into a similar row two years ago, when marine commando Stephen McCabe was told he was not welcome.
In the most recent incident, on Monday, September 10, six members of the Royal Military Police were stopped by door staff, who asked for identification, before refusing them entry once it became clear they were in the Armed Forces.
It is claimed the group were sworn at by door staff before being left with no choice but to leave.
Corporal Marc Dehavilland, who is due for deployment to Afghanistan with the rest of his unit next month, said he had experienced similar problems elsewhere in Darlington on previous nights.
He expressed anger at the group’s treatment, saying Armed Forces personnel receive a warmer welcome at other towns and cities in the region. Cpl Dehavilland, 26, said: “When the first member of our group showed ID to the door staff, the door man immediately said ‘are you all Army?’, to which we replied yes.
“Once he heard this, he told us we were not getting in and told us to go away.
“Stunned, we asked for a reason, and he went on to explain that they no longer let anyone in the military into their establishment, as we are apparently all trouble-makers.
“We then explained we were all military policemen and the last thing we do is cause trouble.
If anything, we are the ones who stop other soldiers causing trouble.
“This had no luck, however, as the main doorman started to become aggressive and refused our request to speak to the manager.”
Darlington is a popular choice of night out for troops at Catterick Garrison, 15 miles away.
Cpl Dehavilland, who said the incident had put him off coming back to the town for a night out, said: “This is not only a sign of disrespect, considering the job that we do, not to mention the fact that we are only a few weeks from deploying to Afghanistan, but an absolute outrage in the way we were treated and spoken to, when all we wanted to do was go out for a few drinks.”
The Northern Echo understands door security at Inside Out is operated by Tynesidebased Phoenix Security. No one from the company was available for comment yesterday.
A spokeswoman for the Ladhar Group, which runs Inside Out, said there was no blanket ban on forces personnel at the venue.
She confirmed an investigation was under way and said: “Initial inquiries confirm no complaint has been made to the premises or the authorities in respect of this alleged incident.
“Inside Out is a popular late-night venue and operates strict door policies to ensure that the licensing laws are upheld.
“Those policies seek to prevent crime and disorder and public nuisance, promote public safety and protect children from harm.
“The policies are in no way discriminatory and are approved by the police and the licensing authority, with whom the operators have a good working relationship.”
Source: SIA
The next door supervision network meeting will be held in Central London on Wednesday 24 October.
The meeting is being organised by UK Security Facilities with the support of the SIA.
The organisers are encouraging door supervisors, security suppliers, security buyers, local licensing teams (council and police) and club and bar owners to attend the meeting. Delegates will hear the latest developments affecting the industry and will be able to share their opinions.
If you would like to attend the meeting, please register your interest by Friday 12 October 2012.
Details of how to register are available at: www.sia.homeoffice.gov.uk/ds-network
Confirmation and further details will be sent by Tuesday 16 October.
Source: The Guardian
Lord Coe, the London 2012 chairman, has told MPs that G4S, the largest private security firm in the world, "failed to understand the size and complexity" of the Olympic security job, and was caught out by its sheer scale.
Coe told the Commons home affairs select committee inquiry into Olympic security that the G4S failure was the Olympic organisers' largest challenge in the build-up to the Games and it was difficult to blame anybody other than the private security company.
Paul Deighton, the Olympic organisers' chief executive, said G4S should have been the "lowest risk route". "We thought that it being the biggest security company in the world, it was the safest way," said Deighton. "They could and should have been able to deliver it."
But the organisers revealed on Tuesday that there was a 35% shortfall of G4S staff on its worst days during the Olympics and a 4% shortfall even "on the best days".
Coe and Deighton revealed that the London organising committee had paid around £90m of the £236m overall cost of the contract when they stopped making any further payments on 13 July – two days after G4S finally revealed that it was going to be necessary to call in the military to cover the gaps.
Deighton, who has been made a peer and is to take up a Treasury job as a result of his Olympic success, said negotiations over what compensation payments would be made were still going on. He said the £57m G4S management fee that the company was still demanding was actually only 15% profit – the rest covered the cost of the company's Canary Wharf operation that was used to employ and train the 10,000 private security recruits. The £236m total price tag was revised downwards from the original £280m that had been originally agreed before the breakdown in the contract was realised.
It was also revealed that G4S paid nearly £5m for their role in sponsoring the Games but Deighton insisted this marketing rights payment was completely separate from any consideration about the security contract.
Keith Vaz, the chairman of the Commons home affairs committee, who was effusive in his praise of Coe and Deighton – at one point he joked about Coe's pending "canonisation" – gently suggested that two reports by Her Majesty's Inspector of Constabulary should have set alarm bells ringing at Locog over the G4S contract.
Vaz revealed that the conclusions of the HMIC report last September said the Locog security programme was behind schedule and "may put aspects of security at the Games at risk".
Deighton said the organisers had commissioned their own consultants' report by Deloitte because they were not comfortable about the quality of G4S management information. However, while there were "amber signs" in the weeks before the Olympics, it was not until 12 July – two weeks before the opening of the Games – that G4S admitted the scale of its problems.
"The assurances we were getting from senior management, I believe they absolutely believed themselves," said Deighton.
Coe, asked if G4S were solely to blame, responded: "It is difficult to look beyond their inability to deliver when we were consistently being assured they would deliver."
In particular he said he was "acutely aware" that some of the military personnel who were used to bail out the G4S operation had had to cancel family plans, especially as some of them had only recently been on active duty.
Source: Doorwatch
That G4S deserve the negative publicity they are receiving at the moment is beyond doubt. However to single out G4S is wholly and utterly wrong. The blame lies with all of us in the security industry, be it public or private. All but a few were dazzled and will continue to be dazzled by the opportunities doing business with G4S can bring – from corporate hospitality, consulting opportunities and of course advertising and sponsorship. However as everyone, especially supposed security professionals know, “there is no such thing as a free lunch”.
The most positive aspect to come out of this affair is the level of security provision has been greatly enhanced by the arrival of the Armed Forces. These are security professionals who are guaranteed to be at their posts on-time and well presented. We are truly fortunate as a nation to have such a flexible, well disciplined force, which always put their country and the lives of others before themselves. Therefore we should stop trying to generate fear as in terms of professionalism – these men and women are literally the best in the world.
The fault for poor security provision lies as it always does – with the client. Therefore LOCOG and the Governments (Labour and Coalition) are at fault. They tried to get security for the Olympic Games on the cheap. They put forward a contract that was totally unrealistic in its terms and conditions. It was so restrictive that all other major events companies in the UK walked away. It was as the Chair of the Home Affairs Select Committee (Mr. K. Vaz, MP) pointed out a “vanity” contract. Essentially it was only for the very stupid or the very rich.
Yet security is about the public’s perception of safety rather than an organisations delusion of grandeur. It is the responsibility of Governments of all colours to protect us from the witting or unwitting consequences of poor decision-making. This is especially true when these decisions cost millions of pounds and risk lives. Therefore it was a shame that no one asked G4S the searing questions they have faced this afternoon 2 years ago. Had they done so, it would soon have become apparent that G4S were unable to complete this task in isolation.
In this instance the Government and LOCOG preparation for security during the games was little more than an after-thought. They clearly got caught up in the enthusiasm of it all and believed everyone would be pleased to volunteer or work in London for £8.50ph on zero hour contracts. In other countries around the world better pay, conditions and public image, make security a respected profession. Here in the UK, providing security ranges from the ridiculous to the sublime. Research demonstrates that cost and ticking the relevant insurance box is the key driver for purchasers of security in the UK. This has been especially true in regard to the Olympics. As a result the original and subsequent contracts were focused on cost rather than a realistic appraisal of public safety.
Additionally the idea that the Government or LOCOG were unaware of the potential shortages is risible. As early as January of 2011 civil servants were being made aware staff retention would be a major problem by industry leaders. The experience of the 2002 Commonwealth Games in Manchester is a perfect example. As issues of other commitments and suitability arose, the organisors were faced with ever diminishing numbers of available manpower. This placed a terrific amount of pressure on the security operation, but yeilded valuable lessons - which have sadly gone unheeded.
The awful truth is the Government and LOCOG neglected their primary responsibility to public safety. Unlike G4S they definitely knew that the troops would step in – hence the amendments to the Armed Forces Act – a clear indication that the Government were aware something was amiss. Throughout this time many people have been meeting with officials and voicing their concerns across a range of media – none of which has been of interest outside the security bubble until now – when it gives politicians the chance to appear on TV. This Government, in trying to save a penny has cost the country millions of pounds and it’s credibility. It is they and LOCOG, rather than G4S that bear the ultimate responsibility for this shameful episode.
Source: Daily Mail
The firm behind the Olympics security fiasco admitted today that its loss on the bungled contract will be in the region of £50million.
G4S is conducting an internal review after its failure to provide all of the 10,400 contracted guards for London 2012, which forced the Government to step in with military personnel.
Today G4S said it had delivered just 83 per cent of contracted shifts and that it was confident the Paralympic Games - starting tomorrow - would be fully staffed with a security workforce.
The company's Olympic contract was worth £284million but the firm told the government less than a month before the opening ceremony that it would only be able to provide 8,000 guards.
Figures released today show G4S's failure to supply all the staff it promised, plus the money it has had to pay for the deployment of 3,500 soldiers, had cost the firm about £50million.
The announcement came as the firm's share price plummeted shortly after 9am to 256p.
It also revealed a 60 per cent drop in pre-tax profits for the six months until June to £61million from £151million a year earlier, although profits were held flat on an underlying basis after sales increased 5.8 per cent to £3.9billion.
G4S is the largest employer on the London Stock Exchange and employs more than 650,000 staff in 125 countries worldwide. More than a quarter of its income comes from government contracts.
There had been fears that the Olympics contract issues would hurt the group’s prospects for future Government work.
Chief executive Nick Buckles confirmed that the resources G4S had put into sorting out the debacle meant it withdrew from bidding for a Department for Work and Pensions contract worth £20 million a year.
But he said no contracts had been lost as a result of the Olympics deal woes and insisted the group would continue to play a 'major role' in the public sector, with an overall £3.8billion-a-year contract pipeline.
He said: 'We were deeply disappointed that we had significant issues with the London 2012 Olympics contract and are very grateful to the military and the police for their support in helping us to deliver a safe and secure Games.'
He added: 'Clearly it is a big setback and we need to rebuild the brand over the coming months and years.'
Mr Buckles has been left fighting to save his career after the debacle and an intense grilling by MPs which saw him agree that it had been a 'humiliating shambles'.
Reports in recent days suggested he had the support of major shareholders and he said today that he hoped to keep his job, having been with the group for 28 years, 10 of them as chief executive.
He is preparing for a second appearance in front of MPs on the Olympics contract next month, while the results of the internal review are due towards the end of September.
G4S also announced 1,100 job cuts as part of a restructuring programme started in December.
Most of the cuts have been made across continental Europe and developing markets, with fewer than 100 roles axed in the UK.
Source: Cambridge News
More than 100 bouncers have been reported to a security watchdog and several have been arrested, new data has revealed.
The door supervisors are employed to face Cambridge’s alcohol-fuelled front line – to quell trouble and eject drunks and violent thugs from pubs and clubs.
But a total of 135 complaints and alerts over behaviour by door staff were passed on to the Security Industry Authority (SIA) by Cambridgeshire police in the last five years, data obtained by the News has revealed.
Three bouncers in Cambridge were arrested, and eight in total across Cambridgeshire.
But Tony Harold, of Hyline Security, which employs door staff, said bouncers face a tough job and often must deal with out-of-control binge drinkers.
Mr Harold, who is also chairman of Cambridge Business Against Crime, added: “The figures are low considering the very difficult job that door supervisors face in pubs and clubs.”
He added he believed all door security staff in Cambridge were licensed with the SIA.
Door supervisors who work without a valid SIA licence can face a penalty of six months in jail and a fine of up to £5,000.
A spokeswoman for the authority said: “We work with law enforcement agencies like the police to ensure that door supervisors and other security operatives are working legally.
“This includes information sharing, and working together in joint agency investigations and checks or prosecutions. We share information and intelligence with law enforcement partners in order to reduce crime, disorder and the fear of crime.
“The SIA’s approach to enforcement is intelligence-led and information can be sent directly to us by the police and other law enforcement agencies, individuals working in the private security industry and the public, or through our partner Crimestoppers.
“Where someone is no longer considered to be fit and proper to hold a licence, or no longer meets licensing criteria, we can revoke or suspend their licence.
“In serious cases of non-compliance, such as working without or deploying staff without an SIA licence, we may prosecute.”
A Cambridgeshire police spokeswoman said: “We work closely with door staff in the city to ensure any reports of crime or anti-social behaviour are dealt with appropriately.
“The number of arrests of door staff is extremely low. However any concerns or complaints we receive are passed to the SIA.”
Source: Daily Post
An investigation has been launched after two doormen were kicked and punched by a crowd of drunks after going to the aid of a lone woman PCSO.
The security staff from the Llywelyn pub, Llanrwst – formerly the Albion Hotel – became concerned for the safety of the police community support officer after a crowd of onlookers began to manhandle her when she intervened in an argument between a man and a woman
The attack took place at around 10.30pm on Saturday as hundreds of revellers descended on the market town following the Llanrwst Show.
Police reinforcement arrived minutes later and officers then ordered four pubs on the town square to close their doors to new customers on the night.
No-one has been arrested for the assaults but North Wales Police are investigating.
The owner of the Llywelyn, Shirley Longley and its manager Alizia Black are unhappy that a woman officer was deployed on her own in the town square on the “busiest night of the year”.
They are also disappointed at the “over-reaction” of one officer, in the attack’s aftermath.
Ms Black said: “There were hundreds of people out on the street. We had already closed our doors at 10.20pm because we had reached our capacity.
“Our doormen Rob and Luke saw the PCSO out on her own and she was trying to stop a man from hitting a woman but some in the crowds were diving over and trying to grab her.
“They went over to help her and people started raining kicks and punches down on them.”
The PCSO managed to call for back-up and three police cars arrived minutes later to break up the crowd.
Officers then ordered at least three pubs on the town square and the Llywelyn to close to new customers. Ms Black accused one of the officers of shouting at the door staff who had just gone to their colleague’s aid.
“Our head doorman Rob told one officer the Llywelyn was already closed and that those causing trouble had not come from the pub.”
According to her the officer then ordered the security worker to “get back inside, we are shutting you down”.
Llywelyn owner Shirley Longley praised the “quick thinking” actions of her door staff from saving the PCSO from “serious injury”.
“We have and will work in partnership with the police. We respect and appreciate the job the police do.
“But I do question why one lone female PCSO was left on her own in the town square in the busiest night of the year.”
She claims the incident was “compounded” by the “over-reaction” of one officer.
She added: “We should not get this out of proportion, most evenings in Llanrwst are calm and quiet.”
Conwy and Denbighshire Rural District Inspector, Gary Kelly said: “A full investigation is currently being carried out and we are speaking to all parties concerned.”
Source: Worcester News
A judge has slammed the crown prosecution service for only charging a man who glassed a doorman with common assault instead of wounding.
District judge Ian Strongman said 22-year-old George Martin should have been charged more severely after he glassed doorman Thomas Loveridge after trouble erupted inside the Brewery Tap pub in Lowesmoor, Worcester.
The doorman had to go to A&E in Worcester to have cuts glued but will be left with a small scar on the right hand side of his forehead, Worcester Magistrates Court was told.
Mr Strongman told the prosecutor: “The charge is plainly wrong. Why don’t the crown prosecution service apply their own sentencing standards?
“This most plainly is a wounding. It’s not a common assault in the least stretch of the imagination. It’s an assault with a glass causing a wound.
“I’m sick and tired of coming to court and having cases under-charged so the court cannot impose a proper sentence.”
The court was told how Martin, a civil engineer, of Blenheim Road, St John’s, Worcester, had been out at the pub with his girlfriend when an argument broke out between two females who were then surrounded by a group of men during the incident on April 29.
Door staff, including the victim, entered the pub and a woman was punched although there was no suggestion that the defendant was involved at this stage.
Mr Loveridge was hit to the right of the head with a glass by Martin and then pushed to the ground by him.
Sam Webley, prosecuting, said it was only later that Mr Loveridge realised his head was bleeding.
Martin claimed through his solicitor Paul Stanley that he had been “heavily intoxicated” and had thrown the glass because he believed his girlfriend was being assaulted and had not meant to hit the victim.
But Mr Strongman asked to see CCTV which clearly showed the defendant strike the victim with the glass still in his hand.
Mr Strongman, passing sentence, said had Martin been charged correctly he could have been facing 18 months in prison for assault occasioning actual bodily harm or wounding but his hands were tied by the crown prosecution service.
He said: “This was an unpleasant incident. The video clearly shows you take a pint glass in your hand whilst the bouncer is trying to do his job.
"You raise the glass and strike him on the back of his head and push him with sufficient force to push him to the ground.
“However, for reasons best known to themselves the CPS have charged you with common assault.”
Mr Strongman jailed Martin for four months.
Source: North West Evening Mail
A doorman was grabbed by the neck and his colleague’s clothes were ripped during an attack outside a popular nightspot.
The two doormen were set upon after trying to remove contractor Matthew John Lewis from Sphere’s Wine Bar, next to Paulo Gianni’s in Cavendish Street, Barrow.
On Tuesday Lewis admitted assaulting Daniel Geere while fellow reveller, Gareth Clifford, pleaded guilty to assaulting Andrew Mills.
Furness Magistrates’ Court heard Mr Mills and Mr Geere had started work on the doors at 9pm on Saturday July 7.
Mrs Lisa Hine, prosecuting, said the bouncers were approached by their manager at around 1.30am on Sunday, and were told that two men inside were knocking into people and being a nuisance.
One of those was 24-year-old Lewis who, when approached by the bouncers, became aggressive.
While the bouncers tried to remove him from the premises, some of Mr Lewis’ friends tried to get involved, offering to take him outside themselves.
But, after Lewis reacted badly to someone putting their hand on his back, a scuffle broke out involving both defendants and some of their friends.
During the scuffle, Mr Mills was grabbed around the throat and Mr Geere was punched.
Mr Geere’s shirt and trousers were ripped during the incident.
When he was interviewed by police, Lewis said he could remember drinking that night but couldn’t remember anything about the assaults.
Clifford, 31, said he had not been drinking much as he was working the next day. He claimed he panicked when all the pushing and shoving started, because the bouncers were much bigger than him.
He said he had never meant to grab Mr Mills by the throat.
Mr Mike Graham, defending, said Lewis and Clifford, both Welsh contractors working in Barrow, had gone on a night out with no intention of getting into trouble.
He said: “It seems that some behaviour by some of their group required them to leave the premises. It seems to be that someone places hands on Mr Lewis, he reacts to that, everyone responds and there’s a kerfuffle.”
Clifford, of Llandysul, was fined £500 and ordered to pay £150 compensation plus £100 costs. Lewis, of Pembroke, was fined £440, and ordered to pay the same amount of compensation and costs.
Both men were also banned from Sphere’s for six months.
Source: SIA
Physical intervention training is to become mandatory for all door supervisors when they renew their SIA licence from February next year.
This training is already a compulsory part of the current nationally-recognised Award in Door Supervision introduced from June 2010. It is now to also become a requirement for those with the previous door supervision qualifications.
From 4 February 2013, all door supervisors with one of the older qualifications will need to pass the new 'Up-Skilling Door Supervisors' award before they are able to renew their SIA licence.
The award includes physical intervention skills training, awareness of terrorist threats, considerations in dealing with 14 to 18 year-olds and first aid awareness. Being trained in the appropriate techniques and how to use them will help door staff to manage difficult situations, minimising the risk of injury to members of the public and to themselves.
Any individual who currently holds a door supervisor licence but does not carry out licensable activities in this sector can, after 4 February 2013, on renewal of their licence obtain instead a security guarding licence and will not have to take the additional training.
SIA director of transition Dianne Tranmer said:
"I encourage door supervisors who have the older qualifications to consider taking the new award as soon as they are able.
"Licence holders must have passed the training before they renew, so it is important that they allow sufficient time to complete it before their licence renewal date. Even if their licence is not due to be renewed for some time, completing the module now will ensure that they are equipped with the necessary knowledge and techniques to perform their role."
Source: The Guardian
The only security project bigger than an Olympic Games is a war, an ex-army trainer told our G4S team insider
"Blow up that sewage works and I guarantee the Olympics won't carry on. Think like a terrorist," barks the instructor. It's 9am and I'm sitting in the auditorium at Old Rokeby School at the G4S training headquarters in east London. Today, along with 130 other trainees, I'm going to learn the most valuable skill of all for an Olympic security guard: how to spot a terrorist.
The atmosphere is already tense. G4S have been in the national spotlight for failing to deliver enough security guards for the Olympics. It's not hard to see why.
The Games are just about to start but everyone here still has to complete their training, and many of us started back almost five months ago. We are all nervous, and that includes the ex-army trainers who are marching up and down the aisles checking that nobody is secretly filming the seminar.
The instructor teaching us for this session is hard-core. Greying close-cropped hair, he's a wall of muscle: "I've been blown up, shot at, stabbed twice," he says, introducing himself. "I had a really intense paper round as a child."
He's trying to intimidate us. It works.
"He's a resilient bastard," shouts his colleague.
"We are at 'substantial' attack level. This means attack is a strong possibility," continues the instructor. Now people are starting to pay a bit more attention. "The only security project bigger than an Olympic Games, is a war."
He clicks at his PowerPoint presentation and uses a laser pointer to circle four photographs.
Photograph A and B show men wearing balaclavas; C – a polite looking man wearing glasses with a closely trimmed moustache; D – an attractive girl with backcombed hair.
There are whispered discussions as we try to guess which of the four represents the most dangerous threat.
It's a trick, of course.
"Remember, there is no psychological or social profile of a terrorist," the trainer bellows. "Don't get sucked into this media image of a terrorist wearing a black hood and carrying a Kalashnikov."
Photos A & B, he tells us, are fairly harmless disorganised groups out to cause trouble. Photograph C, however, is a clean shaven Ayman al-Zawahiri, the current head of al-Qaida; while photograph D is a young Ulrike Meinhof of the leftwing German terrorist group the Baader-Meinhof gang, which was responsible for over 30 targeted killings during the late 60s and 70s. Neither is likely to be in London over the next fortnight - Meinhof died in 1976 - but that isn't the point.
"September 11, 7/7, Atlanta, Oslo," the instructor forms his hand into the shape of a gun: "Pop, pop, pop."
This seminar seems to be all about building fear as a way to encourage us to be become more alert. The threats are listed as: terrorism, serious and organised crime, domestic extremism, public disorder, cyber attack.
"But what is the single biggest threat to the Olympics? Complacency!" he roars.
Cut to a training video called Eyes Wide Open. The film is shot with a cutesy lens making views of London look like a sinister version of Toy Town. This is interspersed with a scene featuring an attentive security guard catching out a would-be terrorist. There is muffled laughter from the class, the scenario is ridiculous.
"Be alert! Observation! How many fingers do I have on my left hand?" He holds up his left hand, which has only three fingers. More advice from another instructor, who adds: "Look out for suspicious bags. Is it ticking? Does it have wires sticking out of it?"
And with that, the seminar is over. We move onto more familiar territory: voice projection; customer service; recognising acronyms and learning important facts about the Olympics.
I've been coming to the G4S training centre since early this year and it's always been suspiciously empty. Now, days away from the Games, it's coming apart at the seams, packed with trainees being fast-tracked into jobs.
Virtually everyone I have met has a story, and the stories are all the same. The training has been chaotic and a lot of people have been left in limbo chasing work that's been promised to them. Some people I met were deployed before their training had finished, others are still stuck in a loop of sending countless emails or waiting in long queues to talk to someone at the G4S call centre.
I certainly feel prepared if everything goes to plan during the Games. But surely that's the problem with our training: everything will be fine, until it isn't.
• The secret security guard is a G4S trainee due to be part of the Olympic security team
Source: Daily Mail
A bungling underage drinker was barred from entering a pub after producing a fake ID card belonging to - Rodney Trotter of Peckham.
Door staff became suspicious when the plonker showed them a driving licence bearing the name of the Only Fools And Horses character and his address - 23 Nelson Mandela House.
It also featured a photograph of Rodney actor Nicholas Lyndhurst and date of birth 26 February 1960.
The drunken youngster turned up at the pub in Newquay on Saturday night and claimed to be 24 when the age on the Rodney ID would have made him 52.
A manager of the Newquay Arms, who did not want to be named, said: 'I was there when he turned up.
'He was a bit drunk, he handed over the ID and I looked at it and then scanned it to double check it was fake and then I noticed the picture.
'It had Rodney Trotter’s picture and I said to him "so this is you?" and he just said "yeah yeah yeah".
'Then I asked him his date of birth and he said it. Then I told him it didn’t match the one that was on the ID.
'I made the doormen UV the ID just to wind him up really and they started giggling and playing along with him.'
The fake ID - which can be bought online as a novelty item for £2.99 - was signed off with the name 'Cosmic'.
The pub manager added: 'We kept asking if it was him and what his date of birth was, we even asked his star sign before asking him about his signature, which was ‘Cosmic’.
'I haven’t ever seen a celebrity ID trying to be used before, but the worst case we have had was probably when a white man tried to use his friend's ID, who was clearly African American and said he had "been on holiday".'
The card was confiscated and police were called but the man left the scene by the time officers arrived.
Local police Inspector Ian Drummond-Smith said the fake ID could have landed him in jail.
He said: 'Lucky for him he’d left before police arrived, as possessing a forged driving licence can attract two years’ imprisonment.
'We have seized 13 forged IDs so far this season but even we saw the funny side of this one. I don’t think it would ever have worked.'
Newquay is plagued by underage drinkers and ID scanners have been brought in to tighten up door entrance policies.
Inspector Drummond-Smith said: 'So far this season we have returned 42 driving licenses or passports to the DVLA or Passport Office.
'If you lend someone your ID, the door staff will retain it and we will send it back. Passports remain the property of HM Government and if misused will always be returned.
'This caused a major problem for a woman last week who is due to fly out on holiday in three weeks’ time.
'People should never lend out their passport and I would ask them to think very hard about the consequences.'
Source: Daily Mail
Two G4S security guards who were due to protect footballers during the Olympic Games have been arrested on suspicion of being illegal immigrants.
The men, who are believed to be from Pakistan, had secured jobs with the under-fire firm to work at the City of Coventry stadium, which is due to host 12 matches.
Officers swooped on the venue after their alleged bogus status is said to have been revealed in an accreditation check by G4S, which has been criticised after failing to provide enough staff for the Games.
The firm, which last week admitted it could not meet its contracted target of 10,400 guards despite employing 650,000 people worldwide, then notified the police and UK Border Agency.
The men, who are aged 21 and 24, worked for East Midlands Security and would have been part of the effort to 'lockdown' the venue in a bid to guard it from terror attacks.
Police today confirmed they were working with officials from the UK Border Agency while further checks were made on their immigration status.
Assistant Chief Constable Sharon Rowe, of West Midlands Police, said: ‘A 21-year-old man was arrested on Tuesday 17 July 2012 at 3pm on suspicion of breach of immigration laws.
‘A 24-year-old man was arrested on Wednesday 18 July 2012 at 10.47am on suspicion of breach of immigration laws.
‘The arrests by UK Borders Agency followed the proactive security checks carried out by the accreditation centre at City of Coventry Stadium in preparation for the forthcoming Olympic football matches.
‘West Midlands Police are working with officials from UK Borders Agency and the men remain in custody pending further enquiries by UKBA regarding their immigration status.
‘Our commitment to safety and security continues.
‘These arrests show that the accreditation checks at the City of Coventry stadium are working as planned.
‘We continue to work closely with our partners to deliver a safe and secure games.’
G4S today confirmed the EMS workers who were arrested would have been responsible for security during the Olympic Games.
A spokesman said: ‘As a result of our vetting and screening checks, these two men were picked up.
‘We check for criminal records, history of employment, residential address and credit check.
‘EMS is a subcontractor and are responsible for perimeter security, including car parking and pedestrian areas outside the venue.
‘The men had not started on the 2012 project.’
The revelation comes after David Cameron today vowed to 'go after' G4S for the costs of the Olympic security fiasco, which has seen the deployment of extra soldiers and police to plug gaps at Games venues.
Speaking on a visit to Afghanistan, the Prime Minister saluted the military for 'stepping up to the plate' in helping deal with the shambles left by the private security firm.
And he said he insisted he was 'confident' that he could meet his promise to bring British troops back from Afghanistan by the end of 2014.
It came as the Government hinted that G4S would lose its £57million management fee for overseeing the Olympic security operation.
He said: 'Let's be clear, if G4S don't fulfil their contract we will go after them for the money to make sure that they help pay for the military personnel that have been brought in.'
When it was suggested London 2012 had become the 'soggy Olympics', Mr Cameron launched an impassioned defence of what had been achieved, including delivering the park on time and on budget.
'Let's not call this the wet and soggy Olympics, it is a great moment for our country,' he added.
'Yes, there are challenges and the military have stepped up to the plate and I salute them for it. Let's not call it a soggy Olympics, let's call it a great Olympics.
'When it comes to the Olympics we have to be ready for any contingency. We have to make sure they are safe and secure Olympics.
'I salute and applaud what the military have done to step in and I think they're doing an excellent job.
'If there are further steps we have to take, of course we will take them, but I think the responsibility should be for G4S to make sure that their people are there to provide enough security.
'But the Army are playing a vital role. Be in no doubt whatever it takes to provide a safe and secure Olympic Games, we will do it.'
Source: Oxford Mail
Three waiters who set upon an Oxford bouncer with a broken bottle have escaped being sent to jail.
Clems doorman Nicolai Schroeder was pushed to the floor before being kicked, punched and hit over the head with a bottle.
Ignacio Ussia and Antonio Marguenda, who work together at the Jericho Cafe, and David Andrier were sentenced at Oxford Crown Court yesterday having earlier admitted causing actual bodily harm.
The incident took place at about 4am on April 1 as customers left the venue near The Plain roundabout.
Prosecutor Cathy Olliver said Mr Schroeder pushed 28-year-old Ussia after he failed to respond to his request to move.
The doorman was then pushed on to the pavement by one of the other men before Ussia kicked him repeatedly in the head and smashed a bottle over his head.
Andrier, 28, was also seen to hit Mr Schroeder in the head, while 29-year-old Marguenda stamped and kicked the bouncer. Mr Schroeder needed four stitches to his head.
Ussia and Marguenda, both of Magdalen Road, East Oxford, and Andrier, of Mill Street, West Oxford, were all given eight-month jail terms, suspended for a year.
They must each pay £500 compensation to Mr Schroeder and abide by a three-month night-time curfew.
Source: Sky News
Thousands of extra military personnel are put on standby to protect Olympics sites because of a lack of available security guards.
The armed forces have been told to find an extra 3,500 personnel to protect the Olympic Games to cover a shortfall in recruitment by a private security firm just a fortnight before the games open.
The extra personnel, the equivalent of an infantry brigade, means that 20,000 servicemen and women will be on duty - that is a fifth of the Army.
Whitehall and defence sources confirmed that G4S, the private company contracted to organise security at the 100 sites for the Olympics had "failed to meet the recruitment and training targets".
They explained: "This means that we have been forced to ask the forces to deliver more people."
A G4S spokeswoman said: "This has been an unprecedented and very complex security recruitment, training and deployment exercise which has been carried out to a tight timescale.
"We have encountered some issues in relation to workforce supply and scheduling over the last couple of weeks.
"But (we) are resolving these every day and remain committed to providing a security workforce for the start of the London 2012 Games.
"We accept that the Government has decided to overlay additional resources."
Source: Click Manchester
A man has been jailed for threatening door staff with a gun at a bar in Manchester.
Darren McDermott, 31, was sentenced to 32 months in prison at Manchester Crown Court after pleading guilty to possession of a firearm with intent to cause fear at an earlier hearing.
The incident occurred on Saturday 17th March, when McDermott was drinking at the One Lounge Bar at the corner of Burton Road and Lapwing Lane.
He was intoxicated, and the bar staff refused to serve him any more drinks. Before leaving, he asked a doorman for directions to the M20 bar.
Later that night, the bouncer received a call from staff at M20 requesting assistance in ejecting McDermott from the premises after he had been refused entry.
The doorman arrived on the scene and clashed with the offender, causing him to leave while spouting a torrent of abuse.
Around 20 minutes later, McDermott was sighted in the vicinity of the One Lounge Bar with an object in his hand. When he arrived at the establishment, he pointed a sawn off shotgun at the door staff.
The bounces shut the main door of the bar, fearing for their lives and for the safety of customers, but McDermott broke a pane of glass and pointed the weapon through the hole.
He was heard shouting: “I’m gonna put a hole in somebody,” before leaving when somebody threatened to call the police.
As he passed the Great Kathmandu Restaurant on Burton Road, he smashed a windows with the barrel of the gun.
He was later arrested and found to be in possession of cocaine.
Detective Constable Dominic Heslop from South Manchester CID said: "McDermott was drunk and abusive initially towards door staff at M20 because they would not let him in. We believe he targeted the One Lounge Bar after a staff member there helped out at the incident.
"Members of the public were so frightened by the sight of the barrels pointing through the window and the noise generated by the smashing of glass, they rang 999, fearing that shots had been fired into the bar. They had no way of knowing that the barrels were incapable of firing a shot.
"The CCTV footage clearly shows the panic he caused that night and I am glad to say he has now been brought to justice."
Source: County Gazette
A thug who attacked door staff with a wheel-brace after being kicked out of a busy Minehead pub has avoided jail.
Cameron Watts attacked two bouncers at the Duke of Wellington after being thrown out with a group of other men for causing trouble during a late-night drinking session.
The 24-year-old dad was given a nine-month suspended prison sentence after admitting two counts of assault and possessing an offensive weapon at Taunton Crown Court last week.
The court heard that Watts, of Widgeon Close, was drinking in the popular pub and hotel on April 6 when door staff heard a fracas coming from the smoking area.
After being thrown out of the town centre venue, Watts returned armed with a wheel-brace before attacking the pub’s security staff, leaving one with a marked face and the other with a damaged hand.
Defending, Ed Boyce said Watts did not intend to use the weapon and that he had ‘positive plans’ for the future.
He added: “He is still a young man. The bouncers intervened and he was taken to the ground. Thankfully the injuries to them were relatively minor.
“It’s clear that he can stay out of trouble and can co-operate. He has positive plans for the future with his partner and his daughter.”
“The most serious offence is the offensive weapon. It is a miracle you did not cause more serious injuries.”
Source: West Briton
A team of Truro doormen awarded more than £82,000 by employment tribunals are claiming a security firm has avoided paying up by exploiting "loopholes" in business law.
Truro's L2 nightclub was bought out of administration in summer, 2010. New owners Peter and Jason Masters made nobody redundant.
Then weeks before Christmas that year the security staff were transferred to Pathfinder (UK) Ltd. Former assistant head doorman Rob Penhaligon said: "We didn't have any qualms."
But Pathfinder (UK) Ltd director Kenneth Gordon then stopped their work, giving shifts to others.
Former head doorman Anthony Caruana said: "I asked if I was going to get any work and they said, 'not at the moment'.
"We had not been given a P45 or P60. We were told we were on a 'zero hour' contract – effectively we were left in limbo."
After trying for weeks to meet with their new boss they took Pathfinder (UK) Ltd to employment tribunals, which found 11 of the staff were unfairly dismissed and awarded £76,031.83 in total. Interest added after 42 days took this to more than £82,000.
Doorman Dickie Vinson, who won an award in the first tribunal, said: "On the first day we won, but on the second we came in to find out what we had been awarded and they (Ken Gordon and his solicitor) didn't even come in to argue the case."
Shortly after the doormen applied for tribunals on April 10 last year, Pathfinder Security Services Ltd was set up, of which Mr Gordon was also a director. Within two weeks of the result of the first tribunal Mr Gordon had resigned as director of the new Pathfinder company and the company name was changed to SIA Security Services South West Ltd.
While Pathfinder (UK) Ltd and SIA Security Services South West Ltd are different companies and have different directors, calls to a number linked to Pathfinder (UK) Ltd are answered by SIA Security Services South West Ltd staff.
Pathfinder (UK) Ltd's former web address redirects to SIA Security Services South West Ltd. Company websites, which are no longer active, linked both Pathfinder companies, while Pathfinder (UK) Ltd and SIA Security Services South West Ltd share an address and have similar logos.
A five-year £7 million contract for Plymouth City Council's event security was awarded to Pathfinder (UK) Ltd and three other companies in 2009.
In May a council spokesman said: "Pathfinder are now trading with the council under SIA Security Services South West Ltd."
In March this year Mr Gordon became director of a new company, Security South West Ltd, registered to the Plymouth address of SIA Security Services South West Ltd. SIA Security South West staff said he runs the company's monthly training for industry badges, and St Austell Brewery also confirmed he runs courses for them.
Pathfinder (UK) Ltd's accounts were not filed in 2011 and Companies House applied to strike it off, but this was suspended when Mr Penhaligon, an unnamed third party and an unnamed government organisation objected.
Collection company High Court Enforcement Group (HCE) has been chasing the tribunal award money. In law it can only pursue the company against which the tribunal award was made.
Mr Gordon told the West Briton: "There is no real comment I can make", adding the tribunals sunk Pathfinder (UK) Ltd, which has not traded since.
He subsequently failed to return calls or respond to e-mails.
Mr Penhaligon, L2 assistant head doorman for eight years, said he believed the system was unfair and that company directors should be personally liable.
"If you (as an individual) get a court ruling (against you) and don't pay out you are breaking the law."
But if the ruling was against a limited company, the directors were not personally liable.
Mr Penhaligon added: "It's just so frustrating. In my opinion they've just used loopholes in the law to get what they wanted and avoid paying."
Doorman Don Florin said: "What's the point – we've done it all by the book but we're no better off."
Mr Vinson, now working at Bunters in Truro, added: "We're not going to give up. We don't feel this is justice."
Source: Guardian
By Molly Prince, managing director of Close Protection UK
You report that "long-term unemployed jobseekers were bussed into London to work as unpaid stewards during the diamond jubilee celebrations and told to sleep under London Bridge" (Unemployed bussed in to steward river pageant, 5 June).
Before publication I sent your reporter a full and detailed response giving the facts I had at the time. But most of this was not reflected in the article, which sensationalised what was essentially an unfortunate logistics planning problem that resulted in a group of volunteers arriving at the muster point just less than two hours early.
You state that "two jobseekers, who did not want to be identified in case they lost their benefits, said they had to camp under London Bridge". In fact, nobody was sent to camp under a bridge overnight. The volunteer group arrived early, at 3am, and were de-bussed by the coach company who had estimated a 5am time of arrival. Unfortunately my staff member did not deal with this in the way I would have hoped; but I am not in the business of scapegoating anyone, and I accept responsibility for decisions made and have expressed my sincere apologies to those concerned.
Those two complainants represented less than 1% of the 227 staff we supplied to the event. The two also claimed they had "no access to toilets for 24 hours, and were taken to a swampy campsite outside London after working a 14-hour shift in the pouring rain". In fact, no one worked 14-hour shifts, nor were they without toilet facilities for so long. We had over 20 volunteers and I have had several messages passed on by my operations director from other individuals in that group expressing disgust at the article and their thanks for the opportunity, training and ongoing support they have received from my staff over the past few months. They have further gone on to offer personal good wishes and thanks for the fact that our company has given them the chance to prove themselves.
Not one person was forced to go, or told that the event was a selection process. These potential employees have been trained over a period of several months, and my company has paid for Security Industry Authority licences and equipment in readiness for the Olympics work we recruited them for. There was no intention to exploit anyone or indeed supply cheap labour; our time in training and people investment shone through on the day with compliments from officials at how well turned out and efficient our team was. The event passed without incident in the area we were responsible for.
All staff were supplied with a hot breakfast, a packed lunch and a hot evening meal, and dry, heated communal accommodation. Although the weather prevented us erecting group accommodation, the complainants, I believe, insisted on trying to erect personal tents against the advice of our operations director. Measures have been put in place to ensure that better planning will be in place for the Olympics and, as was always the case, only fully employed staff will be deployed for the duration of the events.
This week you reported that "the former deputy prime minister has written to the home secretary" about this (Prescott seeks inquiry into use of unpaid jobseeker stewards, 6 June). We welcome John Prescott's call for what I hope would be an unbiased investigation. I run my business with integrity.
I am saddened by the attempt by ill-intentioned and misinformed individuals to ruin a thriving business, employing hundreds of staff, but I am reassured this attempt will ultimately fail as we have nothing to hide.
Source: Guardian
Downing Street has attempted to brush off the controversy over the treatment of unpaid jobseekers who provided security during the Queen's diamond jubilee celebrations by saying it was a "one off" and an "isolated incident".
The prime minister's spokesman made the comments as it emerged that the company behind the incident, Close Protection UK (CPUK), has a contract to provide fire marshals and security officials at next month's Olympic Games.
No 10 was forced to respond to criticisms from Labour's former deputy prime minister Lord Prescott, who accused the government of presiding over the development of labour camps following revelations that unpaid jobseekers on the government's work programme from Bristol, Bath and Plymouth were asked to sleep under London Bridge before stewarding the Queen's diamond jubilee celebrations. David Cameron's spokeswoman said: "This is a one off ... this is an isolated incident. The company has apologised."
Prescott wrote to the home secretary, Theresa May, saying he was deeply concerned about the treatment of up to 30 jobseekers and another 50 people on apprentice wages who were taken to London by coach from Bristol, Bath and Plymouth before the pageant on Sunday.
But No 10 dismissed the criticisms, adding that the government would not be making any changes to its work programme, which arranges for companies and charities to provide unpaid work experience for those on jobseeker's allowance.
Prospects Group, the company responsible for providing the work programme scheme in south-west England, said it had launched an investigation into claims that workers were left stranded and said unpaid workers could get "restitution".
The firm said it was investigating the actions of the employment charity Tomorrow's People, which was involved in organising the placements, and the security firm Close Protection UK, which provided stewards at the jubilee events.
On BBC2's Newsnight, the Tomorrow's People chief executive, Lady Stedman-Scott, apologised for the incident and said the charity would not allow it to happen again.
CPUK has issued "sincere apologies" for what it called the "London Bridge incident", but managing director Molly Prince told the BBC: "The whole situation has been exaggerated and we're talking about two or three people complaining out of 220 staff that were supplied to the event. It was badly handled and for that we've extensively apologised. We're not in the business of exploiting free labour."
Prince is also the director of the Learning Development Centre, a company providing training for security and stewarding jobs. Prince was previously present on social networking sites Facebook, Linked-in and Twitter but her profiles have been removed since the controversy erupted.
According to the Close Protection UK website, the company's clients come from the music, sport, radio and television industries. The website states: "Our security consultants are trained to the highest standards, are always vetted both professionally and personally and have extensive operational experience." CPUK operated at a loss last year.
The LDC website emphasises the links between the two companies, stating: "Our sister company Close Protection UK Limited, [...] provide that essential last link at the end of the training creating job opportunities."
The website for LDC states it "launched from Technology House @ The University of Salford's Campus" lists its address at the university. A spokeswoman for the University informed the Guardian that the company holds only a "virtual office" - or a mailbox - at the premises. Training and courses are provided at the offices of its sister company Close Protection UK Ltd, in Hindley, Wigan.
Next month, CPUK is to supply about 200 fire marshals who will be responsible for making sure fire exits are clear and people evacuate buildings safelyat Olympic Games sites, along with security officials.
The London Olympic organising committee (Locog) said it had sought assurances from the company that all the staff involved would be paid the London living wage and provided with "suitable accommodation".
"CPUK were appointed via a competitive tender process and will be providing accommodation for staff where necessary (ie where they don't live locally)," said a Locog spokesman. "Following the recent media reports, we have spoken to CPUK and we have been assured that appropriate accommodation will be provided."
Locog said CPUK was also providing some security staff to private company G4S as part of the security workforce at the Olympics and that G4S had received assurances from the company.
However, trade unions expressed concern about CPUK's involvement in the Olympics. Paul Embery, the Fire Brigade Union's regional secretary for London, said: "If the stories about this company are true, they should be kept as far away from the Olympics Games as possible, and we certainly wouldn't want them having responsibility for ensuring fire safety laws are enforced or other such work. The Olympic Games generates colossal levels of wealth and those whose job it is to protect the public at the Games should be properly trained, well cared for and sufficiently paid."
The TUC said the "appalling treatment of staff" at the jubilee had shone a spotlight on "the damage unpaid work experience risks causing people who are desperate to get back into proper employment, as well as the exploitative treatment that they can face".
Source: BBC News
Cheap labour could be used to undercut better paid security workers at the Olympics, Lord Prescott has said.
It follows reports that volunteers from the government's work programme spent part of the night under London Bridge before Sunday's Thames pageant.
The firm involved, Close Protection UK, has apologised and said it was a "logistics error".
Downing Street called the controversy a "one-off" and welcomed the apology from the company.
The Guardian reported that volunteers bussed in from Bristol, Plymouth and Bath had to spend part of Sunday night under London Bridge, one telling the newspaper that conditions were "freezing".
They also told the newspaper that they had to change into their clothing - which included a plastic poncho for protection against the rain and high-visibility jacket - in public and had no access to toilets during the 14-hour shift.
Lord Prescott said the home secretary should hold an inquiry into the conditions of employment by companies like Close Protection UK, who provided stewards during the weekend Jubilee celebrations and are bidding for contracts during the Olympics.
'Logistics error'
Close Protection UK said staff should not have been dropped off at 0300 BST with nowhere to stay, but confusion had arisen because the coach driver was two hours ahead of schedule.
Speaking on the BBC Radio 4's Today programme, managing director of the company Molly Prince said it was a "logistics error" and the situation had been "exaggerated".
However she confirmed there was an employee of the firm on the coach and said she did not "agree with his decision to allow the deployment of these people into the bridge area".
"They should have been left on the coach until this director arrived on the site with the other staff members," she added.
"It was badly handled and for that we've extensively apologised. We're not in the business of exploiting free labour," she said.
But Lord Prescott has written to Home Secretary Theresa May calling on her to investigate what happened and see whether there were wider implications for the treatment of workers during the Olympics.
'Victorian conditions'
The former deputy prime minister told the BBC News Channel: "My main concern is what we're witnessing here is the development of cheap labour in a model to be used for the Olympics."
He said he feared that security workers on "proper pay and conditions" were being replaced in favour of "cheap labour companies" to work at the games.
He also raised concerns about the accommodation that could be provided for staff working at the Olympics suggesting "labour camps" were being developed outside of London to house the workers.
Close Protection said the unpaid roles at the Jubilee were a trial for paid positions at the 2012 Games, for which it also has a contract to provide stewarding.
The company, which is based in Wigan, said it paid for meals for all the Jubilee volunteers, accommodation on the night after the event as well as supplying their clothing, equipment and licences to undertake the work.
Ms Prince said steps had been taken "to ensure that better logistics planning will be in place for the Olympics".
The Prime Minister's official spokesman welcomed the apology and defended the government's work programme, which he said gave out-of-work people the chance to develop skills to get a job.
Source: The Sun
Three hero soldiers were turned away from a pub when a bouncer told them: “No Army in here.”
The teenage squaddies were with 15 members of a group called Army Mums and Dads.
The soldiers — all aged 18 — were barred when they produced military IDs at Ma Kellys pub in Blackpool, Lancs.
The mum of one soldier said: “A bouncer said ‘Army! No Army in here’ and wouldn’t let them in.
“We tried to reason but the bouncers would only accept a driving licence or passport. They were quite aggressive.”
The mum — whose son was on weekend leave from the Royal Corps of Signals — added: “It’s disgusting. The boys should be bought a pint, not barred from having one.
“My son and his friends showed their military IDs at other pubs and staff said they were proud to have soldiers in the pub.”
Ma Kelly’s Facebook page has since been swamped with furious comments — with some people calling for a boycott.
Bill McDowall wrote: “As a former soldier I find this deeply offensive and insulting.”
Ell Mackay posted: “I am outraged.”
Ma Kellys defended its actions, saying it does not recognise forces ID as proof of age.
Source: Yorkshire Evening Post
A man who bit a bouncer on the cheek after a dance floor fight at the University of Leeds has been jailed for 15 months.
Jack Butler, 21, left doorman Chris Brooks with a permanent scar on his face after attacking him during the incident outside the university’s student union bar.
Leeds Crown Court heard Mr Brooks needed 11 stitches to re-attach a flap of skin to his cheek and had to have tests for HIV and hepatitis.
Richard Smith, prosecuting, said Mr Brooks and his colleagues had to intervene in a disturbance between a group of men on the dance floor at 3am on January 7 this year.
Butler was among those escorted from the building but he began fighting with another man when he got outside the building.
Mr Brooks tried to intervene but fell to the floor and was bitten on the cheek by Butler.
Mr Smith said the doorman found the attack painful and realised the injury was serious as he could taste blood in his mouth.
Butler ran off after the attack but was arrested five days later and told officers he could not recall biting anyone. He pleaded guilty to unlawful wounding.
Butler, of The Green, Yeadon, has four previous convictions for violent offences dating back to 2003.
The court heard some of his offences were drink-related and he took part in a lengthy anger management course following his last conviction.
Michael Walsh, for Butler, said: “There is little mitigation other than that he has pleaded guilty to the offence.”
Judge Geoffrey Marson QC said: “[Mr Brooks] has been left with a permanent scar. Other people were present. It was in a public place. This sort of behaviour cannot be tolerated I’m afraid.”
Source: Department of Justice
The Department of Justice is seeking views on how the private security industry in Northern Ireland should be regulated in the future. The consultation also considers whether the practice of vehicle immobilisation (wheel clamping) on private land should be banned in Northern Ireland.
The industry includes door supervisors, security guards, public space surveillance (CCTV) and vehicle immobilisation on private land. People working in these areas require a licence from the Security Industry Authority (SIA).
David Ford said: “The private security industry plays an important role in the security of our property, possessions and people; from the security guard in our local shopping centre to the door supervisor in a night club. It impacts on nearly everyone in society.
“This consultation will help to develop recommendations aimed at ensuring the industry provides an effective and efficient service in Northern Ireland.
“It seeks views on a number of important issues and I would encourage all who have an interest in the private security industry to respond.”
The consultation seeks views on the following:-
The Department is organising workshops and focus groups to further explore all these issues. Please contact the DOJ at PSI@dojni.x.gsi.gov.uk for further details if you would like to attend. The intention is to hold the workshops from 18 – 25 June 2012.
The closing date for this consultation is Friday 24 August 2012.
Download the consultation on the future regulation of the private security industry here
Source: SIA
Members of the SIA's Approved Contractor Scheme are continuing to raise the bar, results published today have shown.
Figures for the past year have shown that there has been an average improvement of 11 points across all approved contractors.
Every year all approved contractors, except for those on certain Passport schemes, must assess their performance against 89 individual indicators of achievement. At assessment, an independent assessor verifies these scores.
Andrew Shephard, assistant director of the Approved Contractor Scheme said:
"We now demand more from approved contractors and some examples of how we have raised the bar include:
A requirement to record and verify all income streams
A requirement to consider more factors when arranging insurance
A requirement to ensure all work permits and visa conditions are complied with
A requirement to maintain appropriate contact with the police
"Approved contractors are able to demonstrate to potential clients of security services that they are meeting the necessary requirements and that standards are increasing."
The full 2011-2012 results can be found on the SIA's website here
Source: Tamworth Herald
A Door Supervisor at a Tamworth nightclub was left scarred for life after he was punched in the face by a customer.
Up to 12 stitches were needed to close the facial wound inflicted on David Lewis after he was assaulted in Trinity nightclub on Sunday, April 22.
Leigh Brookes, aged 30, of Sorbus, pleaded guilty to assaulting a person occasioning actual bodily harm at Burton Magistrates' Court this week, and was sentenced to complete 120 hours of unpaid work.
"The defendant took exception to the member of door staff moving his girlfriend to one side," said prosecution solicitor Emma Thompson.
She told magistrates that the injured party did not fall to the floor, but required hospital treatment for a cut lip, with ten to 12 stitches required which will "scar him for life".
"You don't normally associate these kind of injuries from just one blow," said defence solicitor John Walsh.
"The precursor to this event came from my client having some banter with a barmaid about the price of drinks for the time of night, and he made a sarcastic complaint which she took seriously and called for the help of door staff."
Mr Walsh questioned the prosecution's outline of how the defendant's girlfriend was moved aside by door staff, explaining this was the "catalyst" for the assault.
He added: "He lashed out with one single blow and was immediately remorseful with door staff, and the police."
Magistrates requested that the Probation Service carried out an all options pre-sentence report to assist them with sentencing.
As well as sentencing Brookes to a 12-month community order with an unpaid work requirement, Brookes was also ordered to pay £500 in compensation to Mr Lewis, and pay £85 in court costs.
Brookes was also banned from entering Trinity nightclub for 12 months.
Source: The Telegraph
The Queen’s police bodyguards have been issued with controversial Taser stun guns to afford extra protection during her Diamond Jubilee walkabouts.
Tens of thousands of people are getting the chance to see the 86-year-old monarch up close as she tours the country to celebrate her 60 years on the throne, which amounts to a huge headache for those in charge of her security.
The Queen’s team of royalty protection officers already carry pistols, and are authorised to use lethal force to protect Her Majesty if necessary.
The addition of Taser guns to their weaponry, which deliver a high-voltage electric shock to incapacitate targets, has given them another option if they are confronted by troublemakers “fixated” by the Queen.
A detective guarding the Queen during a visit to Dorset last week was spotted wearing one of the distinctive yellow Taser guns in a holster on his belt.
Tasers use compressed air to fire two electric darts up to 21ft, which carry a 50,000 volt charge. They have been used in around 6,000 incidents in Britain since they were introduced in 2003, but have proved controversial because of evidence they can kill, despite being billed as non-lethal.
Last year Dale Burns, 27, died after being shot three times by Tasers at his home in Cumbria, in a case which is currently being investigated by the Independent Police Complaints Commission.
According to the Daily Mail, all members of Scotland Yard’s SO14 royalty protection branch have now been issued with Tasers.
Dai Davies, former head of royalty protection, said the move was “very sensible” because the majority of past attacks on the Royal family were committed by “fixated persons” rather than terrorists.
Source: Radio One Newsbeat
Some bouncers have been demanding people hand over their smartphones so they can check Facebook accounts, Newsbeat has been told.
It's claimed that it is to make sure the person is who they say they are and isn't using fake identification.
It happened to Charlotte Neal, 20, who said there had been a few times where bouncers had asked to see her phone.
Charlotte said bouncers had checked that her Facebook name matched her driving licence.
"I kind of just logged onto it [Facebook] and showed him the screen and then he didn't question it any further," explained Charlotte.
"When it happened the first time I didn't really think anything of it.
"Then I thought, 'Hang on, is this really how you're supposed to check how old I am?' But I was out and I wanted to get in the club so I just agreed."
Charlotte, who's from Southampton, said she often gets asked for identification.
"I just think great, 'Here we go again, they're going to question me, they're going to ask my date of birth, my star sign, and they're going to ask to see a different ID or something.'
"I do understand why they want to verify it, but at the same time if you've got an ID in front of you, why isn't that good enough?"
It wasn't just Charlotte this has happened to, other Newsbeat listeners wrote on Facebook and said it had happened to them, one person said it happened all the time where they live in Northern Ireland.
Nick Pickles, from the campaign group Big Brother Watch, said he was against the idea of checking Facebook accounts.
"Not only is it ridiculous from a security point of view, it's an affront to the basic rights of people to be able to live their lives in private," he said.
"If the problem is that people haven't got good enough quality IDs, then let's make sure they do have good enough quality IDs.
"This shouldn't be an excuse for nightclubs to snoop and pry into people's private lives."
Big fines
Some door staff have contacted Newsbeat to defend the idea of checking Facebook profiles.
They say the consequences of letting someone in who's underage are serious, with the potential for a large fine.
"I believe the fine for letting in an underage person is £5,000," said a doorman from Worthing.
"Why is it so wrong for people to have to prove the ID is actually them? If you're not doing anything wrong you shouldn't have a problem."
Chris, a bar owner from Folkestone, told Newsbeat that convincing fake ID was easy to get - and often very hard for door staff to spot.
"Checking phones with consent is at least a more certain way," he said.
However, Paul Martin-Beades, the director of Akira Training, which trains about 250 door staff a year, said checking Facebook accounts was unacceptable.
He said all staff approved by the Security Industry Authority (SIA) are taught about the law and human rights and would know it was wrong.
"Only the people involved can say why they do this but they would never have been taught to do it."
Source: Bolton News
A Bolton nightclub facing a licensing review for disorder has brought in new doorstaff, many of whom have military or police backgrounds.
The new staff at Vogue in Bradshawgate say they will focus on calming rather than aggravating problems.
Their uniforms are fitted with cameras to record incidents and they also have first-aid skills.
Vogue has brought in Global Union Security Services to operate the doors, and is led by Bolton-raised Durant Williams, aged 43, who spent 25 years in the army.
He said: “We have been drafted in to different venues in Bolton by the owners including Guiseppe Granata, who owns bars including Vogue and Maloney’s, which is being refurbished.
We’ll also be working at Lush, also in Bradshawgate, when it reopens in a few weeks following the fire.
“I’m normally based in Kenya but I’ll be back in Bolton for six weeks. Many of our staff have military or police background and typically work on terrorism and piracy security work.
But because I’m from Bolton I was interested in this project.
My dad worked on the doors in Bolton in the past and my brother does now.
“At Vogue in the past, the control, command and leadership of door staff was not great. The people weren’t bad but their appearance was often unprofessional, with boots on and their hoods up.
“We specialise in conflict management rather than being aggressive. We’re regimented with procedures and rules. It’s a new concept and we’re very confident it will good for Bolton.”
Global Union does similar work in places including Wigan, Blackburn, Leeds and Sheffield, he said.
Vogue owner Mr Granata said: “We think this will be a much better arrangement and are hopeful it will satisfy the council’s licensing committee.”
Bolton Council is formally reviewing Vogue’s premises licence. It said the grounds for the application were the prevention of crime and disorder, public safety and the prevention of public nuisance.
In a recent public notice, it said there had been a recent incident of disorder involving doorstaff committing crime themselves. This was also witnessed by Mr Granata, it said, who is the designated premise supervisor. The notice claimed he stood by without intervening.
The council said doorstaff had not provided public safety.
The bar was also responsible for instances of serious customer disorder. It suffered from high levels of incidents, which have a severe impact on police resources across the town due to the opening times. More importantly, the council said the incidents caused nuisance on the streets that cause alarm and distress to residents and visitors.
Bolton Council’s licensing sub committee is expected to consider the club’s licence at a meeting in May.
Source: Plymouth Herald
Three off-duty bouncers attacked two working doormen in an incident at a Union Street nightclub, a court heard.
Dean Kelloway, aged 28, Luke Tasker, aged 26, and 35-year-old Daniel Tune allegedly repeatedly punched a doorman at Flares.
Tune is also accused of grabbing a second bouncer around the neck so that he felt he would lose consciousness, Plymouth magistrates were told.
Alleged victim Gavin Rains said the men were among a group who "stormed" the club in a "cowardly" attack.
Kelloway and Tune, both of Channel Park Avenue, and Tasker, of Kit Hill Crescent, Barne Barton, are jointly charged with two offences of common assault. They allegedly attacked Mr Rains and Patrick Stewart on July 25 last year.
Will Rose, opening their trial, said: "Mr Stewart was held against his will and saw all three defendants repeatedly punching him to the face and head".
He added Daniel Tune then got Mr Rains in a neck lock.
Mr Rose said: "He was struggling to breathe and thought he would pass out."
He added Mr Stewart was left with scratches and swelling to the bridge of his nose, soreness to the back of his head and scratches to his chin.
Mr Rose said Mr Rains was left with a small cut on his left elbow and bruises to his arm.
Mr Rains, giving evidence, said he was working on the door of Flares when a group of about 20 men approached the club just before 1am. He said that he did not know any of the men, but his colleague Mr Stewart recognised Luke Tasker.
Mr Rains said Mr Stewart said Tasker could not come in because he was banned from the club.
But he added that Tasker tried to push his way in, followed by 'eight or nine' men.
Mr Rains said he was pushed to the floor and saw Mr Stewart get hit repeatedly – but he could not tell who struck his colleague.
He said he got up but he was held from behind around the neck by Tune.
Mr Rains added: "I was on tiptoe, I could not get a foothold. I could not breathe at all. I thought I was going to pass out.
"I think it shows what sort of stature they are. That number against two people. Cowardly, I would say."
He said they managed to push the men out of the door. Mr Rains said he was held from behind and was then punched repeatedly by Tasker.
He also claimed Kelloway punched him in the chest.
Julian Jefferson, for Tune and Kelloway, suggested to Mr Rains he and Mr Stewart had grabbed Tasker.
He added: "I suggest to you that as the group stepped forward, Mr Stewart took hold of him in a grip around the neck."
Mr Rains denied that.
Mr Jefferson said: "Mr Kelloway did not hit you in the chest at all."
Mr Rains replied: "Next question."
Ken Papenfus, for Tasker, said that CCTV footage showed Mr Stewart took his client to the floor, starting the incident.
Mr Rains replied: "I do not agree."
Mr Papenfus said Tasker punched Mr Rains once in the face in self-defence.
He added: "He punched you once because he saw you coming back out with a bottle."
Mr Rains repeatedly denied this.
The trial was abandoned for legal reasons after Mr Rains gave evidence. Another three-day hearing was fixed starting on November 27.
Source: Northamptonshire Evening Telegraph
A drunk father used a blind man’s walking stick to attack a bouncer who was restraining his son outside a pub in Wellingborough.
Tony Board, 51, took the metal stick from a friend before running at the bouncer, who was sat on his son David’s legs outside Rafferty’s in Market Street.
Footage from a CCTV camera showed him swinging the stick like a baseball bat at the man’s head.
A police van arrived just moments later to arrest both Board and his son.
Yesterday at Northampton Crown Court, Board, of Prospect Avenue, Irchester, escaped an immediate jail sentence after admitting to actual bodily harm.
Instead, Judge Sylvia De Bertodano handed him a six-month prison sentence suspended for 12 months.
She also laid down a two-month curfew which means Board must stay at his home between the hours of 8pm and 5am.
She said: “People who work on the doors of nightclubs are working to keep order for the public.
“They are in a vulnerable position and they deserve protection from those who attack them.
“You are a hard-working family man but you behaved in an impulsive way after you had been drinking.
“You would never have behaved like that if you had not been drinking – this was a momentary loss of control.”
The court was shown CCTV footage showing Board first restraining his son, who was involved in an argument with a club bouncer soon after 1am on May 27 last year.
After the situation escalated and his son was pinned to the ground Board walked off to a friend to get the stick.
He then turned and ran at the bouncer before hitting him with the 2ft-long object.
The bouncer was taken to hospital and treated for an inch-long wound on the right side of his head.
Mitigating for Board, Alex Radley said Board wanted to apologise to the bouncer.
He said he launched the attack after hearing his son scream.
After the case yesterday, district crown prosecutor for East Midlands Northamptonshire Keith Taylor said: People should be able to go out in our towns and have a good time free from violence.
“The fact that he has used an aid for a blind person as a weapon shows that he has lost control.”
David Board, 24, of Wellingborough, is due to appear at Kettering Magistrate Court next month after pleading not guilty to a charge of affray.
Source: The Enquirer
A Security guard who confronted a knifeman in a Southend shopping centre has been honoured for his bravery.
Lee Tooey, 27, from Southend-on-Sea, scooped the Outstanding Act award in the South East round of the British Security Industry Association (BSIA) (the trade association for the private security industry in the UK) Security Personnel Awards 2012, for his bravery when dealing with a serious incident involving a man brandishing a knife at a local shopping centre.
Lee, from security company VSG, had been on the contract at the Royals Shopping Centre just over three months when he and his colleagues were alerted to the presence of a male inside the centre wearing a balaclava and carrying a knife.
Having attended the affected area, without fear to his own safety Lee quickly assessed the situation and took control, engaging in conversation with the man whilst his colleagues evacuated and cordoned off the area, and alerted the police.
As the man persisted in holding on to his weapon, the brave officer kept the individual calm in order to avoid escalation of the situation, until the arrival of the emergency services.
Upon arrival of the Police, Lee handed over his position, and the man was subsequently arrested, having eventually surrendered his knife.
Upon receiving the prestigious Regional BSIA award at the presentation at VSG - Lee said: “I am absolutely delighted to receive this award.
“I love working in the security industry, the fact that no two days are the same and that I have the opportunity to help others and to keep people and property safe and secure. Winning this award has been the highlight of my career so far.
Dawn Jeakings, Centre Manager at the Royals Shopping Centre, added: “Lee has been involved in a number of incidents since joining the centre, all of which he dealt with first class instinct and professionalism. He is a valued member of the security team and I am very proud and pleased that he has been recognised for his bravery and the calm and professional way in which he dealt with the incident.”
Lee will now be put forward to the national judging phase of the awards. If successful on the second round, he will be invited to attend the Association’s prestigious annual lunch on 27 June.
For more information about the BSIA's Security Personnel Awards, this year's winners or to find out more about the Association, visit the BSIA's website www.BSIA.co.uk
Source: Lynn News
A bouncer was bitten on the cheek so severely that he could feel his attacker’s tooth inside his mouth.
At West Norfolk Magistrates’ Court on Wednesday, Sean Rawlings, 44, of North Lynn, admitted assault and was sentenced to 150 hours unpaid work.
He was ordered to pay £500 compensation to David Lebourn and £85 costs. His partner, Sharon Link, 41, admitted being drunk and disorderly on the same date, March 25, and was ordered to pay £175 in fines and costs.
Philip Alcock, prosecuting, said Link was forcibly removed from Kudos in Norfolk Street, Lynn. She was aggressive and swearing and kicked at door staff while wearing stiletto heels.
Mr Lebourn said Rawlings became aggressive and he pushed him into the street.
Rawlings held on to him, forced his face round and bit into his left cheek. He felt Rawlings’ teeth clamping down on his skin and the bite went right through. He felt Rawlings’ tooth with his tongue, said Mr Alcock.
After reading a pre-sentence report, the magistrates heard from Neil Meachem, for Rawlings, that his client was told his partner was being ejected and went to find out what was going on. He was given no explanation and was himself ejected.
Mr Meachem said he had studied a video recording of what happened next. Door staff followed Rawlings outside and at one stage there were three doormen on top of him. In pain and unable to breathe, he bit one of the stewards.
Rawlings was a senior highways maintenance officer and for most of his adult life had been a decent hard-working man. He and Link had been partners for 27 years and had three children. Link accepted she drank too much and became disorderly, said Mr Meachem.
Source: Liverpool Echo
A man was due before magistrates on Tuesday after a doorman was stabbed in the back and another injured following a fight outside a city centre bar.
Merseyside Police said they were looking for “a number of other offenders” believed to have been involved in the brawl outside Reform bar.
The 23-year-old man was arrested following the fight at the Victoria Street bar at around 1.15am on Sunday, April 8. He has been charged with a public order offence. The two injured men are said to be “stable” in hospital.
A statement from Merseyside Police said: “Officers were called to an altercation outside the bar between a group of men and door staff. During the incident a 29-year-old man suffered facial injuries and a wound to his back, believed to have been caused by a knife. The victim was taken to hospital for surgery and his condition is described as stable.
“A 42-year-old colleague suffered a cut to his head during the incident which also required hospital treatment.”
Police said a 23-year-old man from Waterloo was charged with a public order offence.
Any witnesses are asked to call St Anne Street CID on 0151 777 4065 or Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111.
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Source: Safeguard
Every year millions of young adults “hit the town” and enjoy a weekend night out with friends. Over the last ten years binge drinking has become a serious issue for night security staff that are tasked, like police officers with keeping relative order in the clubs, pubs and the streets nearby. With Britain’s nights out booming more highly trained security staffs are required to keep people safe while having nights out.
Knife Crime is on the increase across the UK especially in London and Scotland, This places doormen and security staff at risk from potential stab attacks.
Offences involving knifes increased to 7% last year. Doorman particular are at risk from drunken assaults. They have a very dangerous job and dependant on the area and the venue can have their hands full with potential explosions of violence. All SIA trained security staff are made aware of the potential risks of drunken violence and even the threat of potential assaults. What happens when this assault involves a deadly weapon such as a Knife, crossbow or even a firearm? This makes going to work for night security very dangerous and can very quickly lead to avoidable deaths at work.
To prevent this properly it is the responsibility of the employer and the individual to ensure adequate protection is applied during working hours. Just like any job that carries risk of injury protective equipment should be considered a priority. That is why many security companies in the UK have taken it upon themselves to provide their staff with concealable body armour.
Concealable body armour sits directly underneath garments and can offer stab, spike and bullet proof protections. Most soft body armour weighs no more than 3kg and is usually made of very breathable material. The Material is usually made from DUPONT Kevlar®, a fabric that is up to 5X stronger than steel and a great deal more flexible. Most concealable stab and spike proof vests on the market are relatively cheap and they (if bought from a reputable body armour company) guarantee the protection specified. All vests are tested in batches to maintain NIJ standards and come with different protection levels. Security staff should choose the protection level based on the type of potential threat expected in the area of work. If the city or town is known to have a high gun crime rate then maybe a TYPE 3A bullet proof vest should be considered. If the assault is more likely to involve a knife or a spike shaped weapon then stab and spike protection should be sufficient.
Source: The Independant
Three men were jailed for life for the "calculated and cold-blooded" murder of a nightclub doorman.
Bahman Faraji, 44, was blasted in the head with a sawn-off shotgun after being lured to his death by gangland rivals.
Gunman Edward Heffey, 41, was jailed for a minimum of 35 years and Jason Gabbana, 29, who ordered the shooting, was ordered to serve at least 33 years at Liverpool Crown Court.
Simon Smart, 33, who arranged for Mr Faraji to be at the scene, received a minimum term of 31 years.
Former Brookside actor Brian Regan, 53, who admitted being Heffey's getaway driver, was cleared of murder but convicted of perverting the course of justice earlier this year and has already been sentenced to four years and 10 months.
Mr Faraji, accused by Gabbana's defence of drug dealing and running an illegal protection racket, was gunned down at close range after he was lured to the Belgrave pub in Aigburth, Liverpool, on the evening of February 24 last year.
Heffey, Gabbana and Smart, all from Liverpool, were convicted of murder by 11 to one majorities.
Mrs Justice Nicola Davies said: "The murder of Bahman Faraji was as calculated as it was cold-blooded.
"This was a carefully planned and executed killing carried out upon the instructions of Jason Gabbana."
The motive for the killing was never established but is thought to have been the result of a gangland feud.
Ex-actor Regan, of St Mary's Road, Liverpool, admitted driving gunman Heffey to and from the scene of the hit but told the jury he did not know his passenger was carrying a sawn off shotgun and planning to kill Mr Faraji.
The former star was hooked on cocaine and began dealing the drug to fund his habit following the demise of his showbiz career, his trial heard.
After he gave evidence in which he admitted driving the gunman, the court ordered security to be stepped up around Regan and security guards sat between him and the rest of the defendants.
He was also designated a "vulnerable prisoner" and held in an isolation wing in jail.
Gabbana. who stood trial separately to the others because he was arrested only last August, showed no emotion as he was jailed.
Mrs Justice Davies told him he was "the instigator" of the crime.
"You chose to take the law into your own hands and nobody in this country is allowed to do that," she said.
Addressing Heffey, the judge said: "You were the gunman who cold-bloodedly raised the gun to the face of Bahman Faraji and fired the shot which killed him."
She said he had previously been jailed for 12 years for acting as the getaway driver in two armed robberies and added: "You chose to take on this role and you know more than most the consequences of firearm related crime."
As he was escorted down to the cell, Heffey hurled abuse at police officers sitting in the public gallery.
Smart, who used a pay-as-you-go mobile phone to make contact with Mr Faraji and lure him to the pub, was "central to the planning and execution of the murder," the judge said.
"You developed a relationship with Bahman Faraji as a result of which you were able to lure him to the place where he was to be killed by Edward Heffey," she added.
Speaking about the victim and his family, Mrs Justice Davies said: "Whatever has been said during this case, Bahman Faraji was a father and it is clear that his young son is devastated by his death."
She also paid tribute to the police, adding: "The investigation of this case by the major investigation team of Merseyside Police was detailed and complex, including the gathering and analysing of tens of thousands of telephone calls.
"I am in no doubt it was an intelligent and extensive investigation which led step-by-step to identifying those involved in this murder."
The judge ordered that her praise for those involved in the case be passed on to the Chief Constable of Merseyside.
Source: The Express
Students who have passed a nightclub bouncers’ course could be on the frontline in the battle to protect London from a terrorist attack during the Olympics.
Security firm G4S is recruiting university undergraduates looking to earn extra cash during their long summer break to provide protection for the Games.
The young people, aged 17 to 25, will be guaranteed an interview if they complete a four-day “supervision qualification”, the same as that required to work as a nightclub doorman.
G4S, which has government contracts to run some British prisons, said it would be using students for up to 3,000 of the 10,000 security guards required during the Olympics.
Among other tasks they will be responsible for manning X-ray machines, looking to pinpoint anyone trying to bring “anything harmful” into the venues.
A group of Peterborough Regional College students has already completed the course and all 33 of them were successful in clinching a summer security post with G4S, which is in charge of all security for the Olympic and Paralympic Games.
Paul Cooper, the college’s Olympics project manager, said: “This will give our students excellent work experience which will enhance their skills in readiness to pursue their careers into areas such as the military, the police force or security services, as well as the once-in-a-lifetime experience of working at the London setting of the greatest show on earth.
“The students will be there mostly for the safety elements of the Games, searching people and making sure that they disperse in a safe way when an event is over.
“They will receive a further day’s training from G4S in how to carry out searches in the run-up to the Games.”
G4S says it is recruiting from a broad range of backgrounds, ages and experience levels. Candidates will be asked to attend an interview at the recruitment centre, where they will go through a “rigorous” screening and vetting process before their application is submitted to the London Organising Committee of the Games (Locog) for accreditation.
Source: Info4Security
Bill Fox examines the back story as to why physical intervention training for door supervisors is now to become mandatory and how employers might look to manage risks around the use of force.
Following the Security Industry Authority’s announcement on mandatory top up training for door supervisors in physical intervention, it’s important to provide some kind of insight into the tragedies that forced change, the lessons we can learn from these incidents and assess the key steps employers need to take to manage risks surrounding the use of force.
Door supervisors have always had to manage conflict and have, at times, been both the victims of violence and the perceived perpetrators of it. Prior to the Security Industry Authority regime, some local authorities filled the gap as did the British Institute of Innkeeping and then Skills or Security, in turn ensuring that accredited programmes in conflict management and physical intervention were made available.
The Regulator embraced conflict management from the beginning, but the subject of physical intervention was an emotive one that often ended up in the ‘too hard’ box. Thankfully, the Regulator’s competency lead Linda Sharpe kept the issue alive and facilitated the development of employer guidance back in 2007.
To their credit, the leading door security companies also worked hard to improve matters but the fragmented, part-time and cost-driven nature of the industry made something of an uphill battle. These factors in combination with the absence of a united effort by the insurers and venue owners/operators in demanding additional training meant the Security Industry Authority ‘badge’ remained the only currency that mattered.
Key driver of standards in door supervision
Mark Seymour has been a key driver of standards in door supervision since heading operational risk at Scottish & Newcastle and the Spirit Group (he’s now at The Restaurant Group). “This latest development [concerning mandatory physical intervention training] is not before time,” he commented. “Too many hospitality guests and their families have unnecessarily suffered injury and harm while too many door supervisors have had to live with the consequences.”
Tony Clarke, who has represented door security companies during the Security Industry Authority’s consultation phases, is also positive.
“We must embrace this mandatory training forthwith," he asserted. "Credit is due to Tony Holyland and the Regulator’s leadership, and to the proactive sections of our industry. The personal and business costs of violence are too high, and at least one major insurer anticipates substantial increases in premiums if claims surrounding the use of force increase any further.”
The current Security Industry Authority leadership and Board listened to industry opinion and recognised that, despite employer guidance and awareness campaigns, most door supervisors remained untrained. Intervention was needed in the best interests of public safety, but also required ministerial support.
HM Coroner’s letter tips the scales
Further restraint deaths occurred in 2011 involving door supervisors untrained in physical intervention, but it was the outcome of two coroner’s inquests – one in Lincoln, the other in Portsmouth last winter – that were absolutely key to securing ministerial approval for mandatory instruction. Both inquests concerned tragic deaths that followed ejection and restraint from licensed premises.
I’m aware of this as I was asked to provide expert witness support by HM Coroner David Horsley at the Portsmouth inquest into the death of Peter Lawrence (who died following his ejection from a bar in Port Solent). The jury delivered a damning narrative verdict, and Horsley sent a Rule 43 report to the Home Office asking for an explanation as to why existing door supervisors were not required to undertake physical intervention training. Ministers responded quickly this time around, informing the Coroner of their decision to support mandatory training.
Horsley understood the issues well as he had presided over an earlier high profile inquest wherein a patient died following restraint involving security officers in a hospital setting.
We tend to focus on the fatalities, yet for every death there will be many serious injuries – some of them devastating. Another case I worked on concerned John Jones, a young student paralysed following his ejection from a Southampton nightclub. The door supervisor had placed John in a full nelson, one of a number of dangerous neck holds commonly used by door supervisors.
The Security Industry Authority’s physical intervention training requirement is basic, but it provides safer alternatives to neck holds, raises awareness of restraint risks and how to minimise them and helps door supervisors avoid assaults and prosecution.
Lessons we can learn
Most tragedies have taken place inside or directly outside licensed premises, but there are lessons to be drawn for other security functions that use physical intervention as deaths also occur in retail and hospital settings.
A common feature in these and other restraint-related deaths I’ve reviewed is not just that staff lacked appropriate skills. Many seemed oblivious to the risks and failed to act when it was apparently clear to bystanders that an individual was in distress and/or a medical emergency was occurring.
Harm resulted from ignorance rather than malice, and staff will have been devastated at the outcome of what started in most cases as a legitimate ejection. The point is that it’s neither right nor lawful to expect staff to carry out tasks for which they have not been trained.
Raising awareness of positional asphyxia is important, of course, but we should not focus exclusively on this as it can lead to a belief that restraint is safe as long as it’s not a ‘face down on the ground’ scenario. Sudden death can and does occur due to a cocktail of personal and situational factors during a stressful struggle. Many serious incidents also involve falls resulting from a blow, push or trip.
Some feel the Regulator’s physical intervention training doesn’t go far enough (ie by not teaching ground restraint, a decision that’s left to employers). The Security Industry Authority training does at least raise awareness of intervention and restraint risks and steps to reduce these, such as continuous monitoring of the well-being of the subject. This simple measure was not apparent in the cases I have been involved with and could have made the difference.
Beware the law of unintended consequences
It may be surprising to read what I’m about to write, but training alone will not fix the problem. In fact, to some extent it could encourage intervention if not managed carefully.
Maybo is addressing this through helping clients target a reduction in the use of physical intervention (ie not just teaching staff how to do it better!) If we get these steps right we can reduce incidents involving the use of force and resulting harm. We will not stop all the injuries or deaths because of circumstances beyond our control, but we can and must reduce them.
It’s important that employers are clear as to the level of training required by staff performing different roles, and that this is based on risk. Some door supervisors and security officers will need training over and above the Security Industry Authority’s physical intervention requirement. Incident response teams spring to mind here, but many security officers will need no physical intervention training, or a lower level of training (for example, skills to avoid assaults and disengage but not to restrain).
This may result in some security companies switching door supervision badge holders to a security guarding licence at renewal, and continuing to provide physical intervention training as and when required on a client contract basis (a practice already adopted by he more professional security guarding companies).
Clear guidelines for members of staff
To reduce staff, customer and business exposure to risk and the ‘unintended consequences of physical intervention training’, employers need to provide clear guidance to staff members on certain activities such as ejection and arrest.
Further considerations for employers in reducing the use of force/physical intervention include:
Be aware that the Security Industry Authority will be updating employer guidance on violence reduction and physical intervention matters for the licensed retail sector. The latest Skills for Security versions for both retail and NHS security functions can already be downloaded from its website and from our own portal (the link to which is below).
Bill Fox is founder and chairman of Maybo
Source: The Independent
A former soap star who admitted driving the getaway car in a gangland shooting has been cleared of murder, it can be reported today.
Brian Regan, 53, who played Terry Sullivan in Channel 4's Brookside, was found not guilty at Liverpool Crown Court over his role in the killing of nightclub doorman Bahman Faraji, 44.
He was convicted of two counts of perverting the course of justice by lying to police in the early stages of the murder investigation and disposing of a pair of gloves he wore on the night.
Regan, who was on bail for supplying cocaine when the murder took place, was jailed on January 25 for a total of four years and 10 months.
The facts can now be revealed after Mrs Justice Nicola Davies lifted reporting restrictions put in place to avoid prejudicing the trial of another defendant, Jason Gabbana, who was today convicted of murder.
Gabbana, 29, was found guilty of murder by an 11 to one majority at Liverpool Crown Court today after standing trial accused of ordering the execution of father-of-one Mr Faraji.
The victim, accused by Gabbana's defence of drug dealing and running an illegal protection racket, was gunned down at close range after he was lured to the Belgrave pub in Aigburth, Liverpool, on the evening of February 24 last year.
Ex-actor Regan admitted driving gunman Edward Heffey to and from the scene of the hit but told the jury he did not know his passenger was carrying a sawn off shotgun and planning to kill Mr Faraji.
Regan, of St Mary's Road, Liverpool, was hooked on cocaine and began dealing the drug to fund his habit following the demise of his showbiz career, his trial heard.
He had denied murder along with Heffey, 40, Lee Dodson, 42, and Simon Smart, 32.
Following a three month trial, verdicts were returned on January 24.
Smart, of Kylemore Way, Liverpool, who lured Mr Faraji to the pub, and gunman Heffey, of Beloe Street, both Liverpool, were convicted of murder by 11 to one majorities.
Dodson, of Logfield Drive, Liverpool, who was Regan's best friend and cocaine supplier, was found not guilty of arranging for Regan to drive the getaway car.
After he gave evidence in which he admitted driving the gunman, the court ordered security to be stepped up around Regan and security guards sat between him and the rest of the defendants.
He was also designated a "vulnerable prisoner" and held in an isolation wing in jail.
The verdicts in Regan's trial, which came after 43 hours and five minutes of jury deliberations over nine days, were met with dramatic scenes in court.
Hearing that he had been found not guilty, father-of-three Regan gave a deep sigh and slumped into his seat.
When Heffey's guilty verdict was delivered, a woman and a young man in the public gallery angrily interrupted proceedings and had to be bundled out by police.
In the dock, Heffey appeared to lunge towards Regan and was swiftly taken down to the cells by security officers.
Mrs Justice Davies was forced to halt proceedings as several women in the jury burst into tears and Smart shouted at them: "You're having a laugh. This is my life."
When told to be quiet, Smart turned his back to the jurors and responded "What do you want me to do? Just sit here like a mug?" as his mother sobbed in the public gallery.
The jury decided Regan gave a false statement to police and disposed of a pair of gloves he was wearing the night Mr Faraji was killed.
Passing sentence, the judge told Regan that interfering with the murder investigation "could not have been more serious".
"The eventual outcome cannot excuse what you did," she said.
Regan was also sentenced for two counts of supplying Class A drugs and two counts of possession of Class A drugs with intent to supply.
Nick Jones, defending Regan, said in mitigation: "In many respects he can be held up as an example of the awful effects of drugs.
"He has lost his wife, his home, his career and good standing and now he will lose his liberty."
The judge told the fallen star: "Whatever you lost in dealing cocaine, you assisted the spread of this addictive and destructive substance which brings misery to the lives of those who depend on it."
He was jailed for 28 months for each drugs offence, to be served concurrently, and 30 months for destroying the gloves and 12 months for lying to police, to be served concurrently but consecutive to the drugs sentence.
Regan showed no emotion as the judge directed the Prison Service to maintain his status as a vulnerable prisoner.
Gabbana, Smart and Heffey will be sentenced either tomorrow or on Monday, Mrs Justice Davies said today.
The jury was unable to reach a verdict on Regan's girlfriend Christine Line, 48, also of St Mary's Road, Liverpool, who was accused of perverting the course of justice by helping the ex-actor dispose of the gloves.
The matter was ordered to lie on file and the NHS secretary will not face a retrial.
Line, a mother of one, admitted permitting or suffering her premises to be used in the supply of cocaine and was sentenced to 30 months imprisonment suspended for 12 months with a 12-month supervision requirement.
Gabbana, who stood trial separately to the others because he was arrested only last August, showed no emotion as the guilty verdict was delivered today after 10 hours and 16 minutes of jury deliberations.
Mr Faraji's girlfriend, who sat with police officers in the public gallery, burst into tears.
In light of the events which unfolded at the last verdict, Mrs Justice Davies had warned those in the public gallery against interrupting the proceedings.
Liverpool-based Brookside began on the launch night of Channel 4 on November 2 1982, and ran for 21 years until November 2003.
Regan joined Brookside from episode six and his character was at the centre of some of the Close's most dramatic storylines until his final appearance in 1997.
He said he was in Brookside when he began taking cocaine but never used the drug while he was working.
Leaving the programme had a "dramatic" effect on his life and income, he said.
Gabbana was jailed for rape in 2003 but the conviction was later overturned by the Criminal Cases Review Commission (CCRC) after it emerged police failed to disclose vital information to his defence.
The alleged victim, who was 15 at the time, had previously made a false allegation about another attack to police.
Gabbana's defence said that if the rape jury had known about the previous false allegation, it could have made a big difference to the verdict.
He was released after spending more than two years in jail.
Source: The Argus
Sussex pubs and clubs may have to shut their doors during the Olympics because of a walkout by bouncers.
Police believe many security staff from Sussex will abandon their posts at short notice to head to London to take up lucrative contracts there during the Games this summer.
Officers think that would leave some venues in the county without enough staff to meet the terms of their licences.
Now they have warned pubs and clubs if they do not get cover for any staff that leave they will shut them down.
Pubs themselves are appealing for police to show “understanding” if security guards suddenly leave.
The Olympics are expected to create 25,000 security roles in London.
Sussex Police invited licensees to a meeting at the force’s Slaugham Manor conference centre last month to point out that licence conditions must be stuck to regardless of the Olympics.
Jean Irving, the force’s licensing and public safety manager, said: “There is a kudos to working for the Olympics.
“We told security companies and licensees they need to make sure they are not going to be losing staff.
“If you have on your licence a condition which requires you to have door staff you are committing an offence under the Licensing Act if you haven’t got them which is punishable by six months in prison or a £20,000 fine, or your premises could be closed under emergency police powers.”
She said the turnout from those of the 6,850 licensed premises in the county who were invited to the event by police was “disappointing”.
Police have already received more than 100 applications, called temporary event notices, to hold one-off parties during the Olympics.
Officers are hoping new powers will be in place by then to require some of those parties to have door staff as well, if there is a risk of crime.
Publicans themselves are asking for flexibility from police if security staff desert the county.
Nick Griffin, spokesman for the Brighton and Hove Licensees Association and boss of Pleisure Group pubs, said he had not been contacted about the issue.
He said: “I am sure most licensees would be using reputable security companies and would hope not to be let down by them.
“We would urge the police to show understanding though. ‘Help, not hindrance’ should be the mantra.
“Perhaps the police would be better placed engaging with the companies that provide the security for venues throughout the city, encouraging planning and awareness, rather than issuing veiled threats to those unfortunately caught up in a situation not of their making.”
Source: Bristol Evening Post
A brawl broke out in a pizza parlour between rival door staff after a bitter dispute over a lost contract.
Disgruntled door staff from Sovereign Door Supervision Ltd were upset they had lost their contract with Pizza Palace in St Augustine's Parade and felt they had been treated unfairly.
After their contract was terminated a company called RAS took over duties at the takeaway. On March 6, Sovereign staff who had been on duty at the Hippodrome went for a drink before getting some food from a takeaway near Pizza Palace.
A row a involving a Sovereign employee took place outside Pizza Palace before his colleague Graham Goldsmith waded into the takeaway and a fight broke out.
During the melee, Kyle Steier, who was not employed by Sovereign, discharged a CS gas canister in the face of one of the members of RAS security.
Goldsmith, 30, and Steier, 21, pleaded guilty to a charge of affray. Steier also admitted a charge of possession of the CS gas canister.
At Bristol Crown Court, Charles Row, prosecuting, said: "A member of Sovereign door staff had a confrontation outside Pizza Palace and one way or another he ended up inside and a fight unfolded. At this point Mr Goldsmith became involved. He barged into the establishment and threw punches. There was wrestling and punching and at one point he brandished a chair although he did not use it.
"Then at some point Mr Steier discharges the CS gas into the face of Andrew Thomas – a member of RAS security."
Mr Row said RAS employees Mr Thomas, Greg Brown and Lionel Viner all received minor injuries.
He added that Goldsmith was of previous good character while Steier had a previous caution for common assault.
Jason Taylor, defending Goldsmith, said his client had a 12 year unblemished career in door security and was disappointed with how he had behaved that night.
Mr Taylor said Goldsmith had been suspended following the incident and had his security licence revoked.
Sam Jones, defending Steier, said his client, who had a nine-week-old child, played no other part in the incident other than discharging the CS gas spray.
Judge Martin Picton told Goldsmith: "It is inexcusable thuggish behaviour and certainly not the way to sort out a dispute over a contract." He told Steier: "The use of the CS gas was brief but stupid."
Goldsmith was sentenced to a community order with 240 hours unpaid work. He must also pay Mr Brown £250 compensation and £125 court costs.
Steier was given a community order with 160 hours unpaid work and must pay £125 court costs.
Source: North London Today
Four men have been given life sentences for the early morning murder of a club doorman outside his home.
Last week four men were found guilty of the killing of 29-year-old Bogdan Paduret, known as Tony to friends, outside his home in Tillingbourne Gardens, Finchley, at 6am on November 27, 2010.
John Otugade, 20, of Stanford Road, Friern Barnet, Errol Jeffrey, 29, and Christopher N’Jie, 19, both from the Isle of Dogs, Danny Dixon, 30, from Bow, were sentenced to minimum terms of 25 years, 35 years, 25 years and 32 years behind bars respectively.
A fifth man, Troy Shaw, 20, from the Isle of Dogs was acquitted last Thursday.
During the six-week trial the jury heard how Mr Paduret, the head doorman of the Mayfair Club, had finished work at 5.30am on the Saturday and had been driven home by a friend in a silver Vauxhall Corsa.
Otugade had been driven to Mr Paduret’s road by N’jie on a motorbike and both men had waited for the victim to return from work before striking. Otugade walked up to the car and shot through the passenger window four times, killing Mr Paduret. A gunshot wound to the head was found to be the cause of death.
Officers from the Homicide and Serious Crime Command identified the rider of the motorcycle as N’Jie and the gunman as Otugade from a combination of CCTV, forensic evidence and phone analysis. They also identified that Dixon and Jeffrey conspired together to arrange the murder, conducting reconnaissance missions before the killing.
The motive for the murder stemmed from an incident at the club on November 7 when Jeffrey and friends had been refused entry and were involved in an altercation, where Jeffrey sustained a cut lip. Mr Paduret was one of the door supervisors at the time. Jeffrey and others planned to have the doorman killed for “disrespect”.
Detective Chief Inspector Jackie Sebire said: “Tony Paduret was shot at point blank range in cold blood whilst sitting in a car outside his home. He appears to have been targeted purely because he ‘upset’ his murderers who meticulously planned his murder in a mindless act of violence.
“This was a very difficult inquiry, and we are encouraged to see the sentences reflect the seriousness of the offence.”
Two men, 21 and 25 years old, were arrested in July 2011 and have been bailed pending further enquires until this month.
Source: SIA
Following recommendations by the Security Industry Authority and in the interest of public safety, ministers have agreed that physical intervention skills training will become mandatory for all door supervisors in the United Kingdom.
Although this training is already a compulsory part of the updated nationally-recognised door supervision qualification for new applicants introduced in June 2010, it is currently not a requirement for those who qualified before this date.
Knowing how to escort people from premises safely is important to door supervisors, who may have to deal with this type of situation as part of their role. Being trained in the appropriate techniques and how to use them will help door staff to manage difficult situations, minimising the risk of injury to members of the public and to themselves.
The module will include physical intervention skills training, and other areas such as considerations in dealing with 14 to 18 year-olds, and first aid awareness. Once the requirement is introduced, door supervisors who trained prior to the introduction of the new qualification in 2010 will need to pass this module before they can renew their licence.
The SIA is now working closely with the Home Office to determine the timescales and arrangements necessary to introduce this mandatory requirement at the earliest opportunity. At least six months notice will be given before its introduction so that licence holders have time to undertake the training before their licence expires.
Source: BBC News
Three men have been found guilty of murdering a bouncer after he refused a group of revellers entry to a club.
Bogdan Paduret was shot twice in the head as he returned home from a shift at the Mayfair Club near Piccadilly on 27 November 2010.
John Otugade, 19, Christopher N'Jie, also 19, and Errol Jeffrey, 29, have been found guilty of his murder, at the Old Bailey.
Troy Shaw, 20, from Poplar, east London, was cleared of murder.
It was alleged in court that Mr Shaw was a "spotter", charged with keeping tabs on the victim.
About three weeks before his death, Mr Paduret's refusal to allow a group of approximately 10 people trying to enter the club sparked a fight.
"Tony Paduret had simply been doing his job," prosecutor Crispin Aylett QC told the court.
"Nonetheless, Jeffrey and his friends must have felt that they had not been shown the respect to which they considered themselves entitled."
Romanian Mr Paduret, known as Tony, was gunned outside his house in Temple Fortune, north London.
He died in front of his friend Constantin Cimpan, who had given him a lift home from work.
'Dirty work'
Otugade had pulled the trigger, the court heard, before he fled on a motorbike ridden by N'Jie.
Mr Aylett said Otugade had "almost certainly never met" the victim, but was doing Jeffrey's "dirty work".
He added. "Otugade was looking to make a name for himself - to acquire a degree of underworld celebrity."
Jurors are still deliberating over murder charges against a fifth man, Danny Dixon, 29, from Hounslow, west London.
The guilty men are expected to be sentenced today or Monday.
Source: SIA
More than 200 security guards, close protection operatives and door supervisors were inspected during a wide-scale national operation on Thursday 23rd February covering six towns and cities in England and Scotland.
Operation Baltic was conducted by Security Industry Authority investigators and saw teams deployed to check security operatives in Dundee, Grimsby, Scunthorpe, Birmingham, West Bromwich and Brighton.
A total of 56 sites were visited, including shopping centres, supermarkets, construction sites, libraries, ports, leisure parks, theatres, hospitals, museums, ports, a casino, supermarkets, banks and pubs. The aim of the operation was to test compliance amongst those working in the private security industry.
In total, 206 people were checked, of which 190 operatives were carrying out licensable activities. Of those, 187 individuals were working legally by holding a valid SIA licence. Two unlicensed operatives were working in Brighton and Birmingham. Investigators also issued warnings to 12 operatives in breach of licence conditions.
SIA investigators are conducting further enquiries and will be contacting the two security companies that deployed them.
Dave Humphries, SIA Director of Compliance, Intelligence and Communication said:
"We carry out such operations because they allow us to test the assumptions on which our compliance strategy is based and act as a deterrent to those considering working illegally. Trained, qualified and SIA-licensed security operatives help to maintain public safety. It is therefore important that we carry out operations like this to target those who maybe flouting the law and support those who are compliant.
"Anyone found to be working without an SIA licence or breaking licence conditions is at risk of prosecution. Our investigations will continue and we will consider the most appropriate action for the offences found during Operation Baltic."
In Birmingham, 43 operatives were inspected. 42 operatives held a valid SIA licence. One unlicensed security guard was found. One person was issued with a warning for failing to display their licence. Two operatives were issued with warnings for failing to notify the SIA of a change of their address.
In Brighton, 65 operatives were inspected. 64 operatives held a valid SIA licence. An unlicensed bar manager of an in house door staff team was found. Four people were issued with warnings for failing to notify the SIA of a change of their address.
In West Bromwich, six operatives were inspected. All individuals held a valid licence. One person was issued with a warning for failing to notify the SIA of a change of their address.
In Dundee, 31 operatives were inspected. All individuals held a valid licence. Two operatives were issued with warnings for failing to notify the SIA of a change of their address.
In Grimsby, 21 operatives were inspected. All individuals held a valid licence. Two people were issued with a warning for failing to display their licence.
In Scunthorpe, 24 operatives were inspected. All individuals held a valid licence.
Source: Sunderland Echo
Bouncers have hit back after criticisms over heavy-handed action at a trouble-hit city centre club.
Door staff have defended their professionalism after the Glass Spider had a catalogue of restrictions imposed by licensing bosses.
Security men and women at the Green Terrace club say they are being unfairly portrayed and tarnished with an outdated image of their role.
While the licensing committee which imposed the restrictions made reference to a number of clashes between door staff and drinkers, the bouncers say little is ever mentioned of the good they do in the city centre.
Between them, Les Ojugbana and Gary Pearn have 40 years’ experience of working the doors and have resuscitated people, rushed pub-goers to hospital and tackled machete-wielding clubbers.
Les, who is head of security for Wylam Leisure, the firm which owns Glass Spider, said: “I’ve personally driven people to A&E and have chased someone from Green Terrace to Chester Road because police weren’t able to apprehend him.
“It’s been made out that there’s no control over the premises which isn’t the case. Encountering trouble is part and parcel of the job. Without us that city centre couldn’t operate. The police couldn’t handle it on their own.
“We have a good relationship with the beat police because they see how we operate, but a lot of people who make decisions about licensing don’t understand what we do.”
Les, who also works the doors at Ttonic and Paddywhacks, added: “We’re in a position similar to police but we don’t have weapons. All we have is our arms. If somebody comes at you, if someone is clawing your face, you have to try and restrain them with reasonable force.
“There is also a grey area around coming off your step to intervene in a fight. In training you are told not to do this, but this is one of the things we have been criticised for.
“We have come off our step to intervene in the past and been told off by police for it.”
He added: “In two years of being open the Glass Spider has had one million visitors and 61 incidents. We can’t pre-empt what happens when people have a drink. All we can do is try and stop trouble from happening and, if it does, to intervene.”
In order to obtain a door supervision licence, staff must undergo a five work SIA course which includes a section on conflict management and reasonable force.
Though doormen have been disciplined for using excessive force in the past, Gary is keen to point out that the vast majority of the city centre’s doormen are trying to keep clubbers safe and out of harm’s way.
“I’ve been a doorman for 30 years and the profession is a lot different from what it once was,” he said. “We dress smartly, we open doors for people, we meet and greet them. We do things right.”
After Sunderland City Council imposed restrictions on the club, leisure boss Tony Griffiths announced plans to sell his prized venue, a move which Les says will have repercussions for the the city centre.
Les said: “If people think that doormen are going around bashing people, which isn’t true, then they won’t come into the town which is bad for the city centre.”
Source: BBC News
A private security company has signed a deal to design, build and run a police station in Lincolnshire.
The agreement - between G4S and Lincolnshire Police - is thought to be the first of its kind in the UK.
As part of the deal, two-thirds of staff employed by the force would be transferred to the private sector.
BBC Home Affairs correspondent Danny Shaw said it was arguably the most radical solution to the budget cuts facing police forces.
It is thought the contract will save Lincolnshire at least £20m.
Analysis
G4S is the biggest global security company in the world.
In the UK, it has a £1bn turnover and employs more than 40,000 people, including staff at five prisons, three secure training centres and two immigration removal centres.
The company is also responsible for electronically monitoring offenders and transporting asylum claimants.
The contract with Lincolnshire Police significantly extends G4S's reach into policing.
But it's not alone: the private firm Steria has a £175m contract with Cleveland Police and the Avon and Somerset force has out-sourced much of its back-office functions in a partnership with IBM.
Other constabularies are involved in similar, smaller-scale projects with the private sector - and more are certain to follow.
The Police Federation has raised concerns about the plan, saying police force staff have an "enshrined sense of public duty which private employees may not".
Under the plan, 540 civilian workers at Lincolnshire Police will move across to G4S, from April, in what is thought to be the biggest single transfer of police staff to a private company.
The police authority will pay G4S £200m over 10 years to deliver a range of services, including human resources, finance and IT.
Police authority chairman Barry Young said that, subject to planning permission, a new custody suite would be built at the police headquarters site in Nettleham, near Lincoln.
The security firm will also build a large police station in the county, containing a two-storey office block and a custody suite with 30 cells.
Ten other police forces in the country have expressed interest in becoming "strategic partners", which would see some of their services outsourced to the private security company.
'New innovations'
Mr Young said: "By taking over a range of support functions, G4S will contribute to the force's aim of being able to put 97% of its warranted officers in front-line roles by April.
"Crucially, the new strategic partnership will also deliver significant infrastructure investment that will offset the budget reductions called for by the government. I believe we are leading the way."
Kim Challis, from G4S, said: "Lincolnshire is leading the way in responding to the challenges of today's economic environment and this transformation project will mean many of the services provided by the police will now be delivered externally by specialists who can deliver greater savings and improve efficiency.
"We are particularly delighted to have the opportunity to implement many new innovations, such as our purpose-built Bridewell custody suites - the first of which will be completed within a year."
Source: West End Extra
An alleged “shootist” said to be responsible for the murder of a “popular” West End club head doorman denied having any participation or being at the scene.
“I know nothing about this and I’m not lying”, John Otugade, from Islington, protested to an Old Bailey jury. He added “I’m paranoid. I don’t carry weapons” when he was asked by QC Stephen Leslie if phone calls he received “were about bad things and going to kill someone”.
Mr Otugade, of Stanford Road, De Beauvoir, went to a friend’s funeral hours after he was alleged to have been the “cold blooded assassin” who shot dead Romanian Bogdan Paduret, known to friends as Tony, who ran the door at the Mayfair Club in Dover Street, Piccadilly, in November 2010.
The court has heard that Mr Paduret, 29, was targeted after leaving the club in the early hours and being driven by a friend to his home in Fortune Green.
Shots were fired at him by a pillion passenger on a motorcycle and he died from head wounds.
The bike rider and passenger sped off at 6am.
Mr Otugade was quizzed about an invitation to a champagne party he attended at a top West End hotel.
Prosecutor Bill Emlyn-Jones suggested that it was his reward to celebrate the murder of Mr Paduret.
Mr Otugade told the court: “That’s nonsense. I was never invited to no party because I killed somebody.”
He is in the dock with four other men who also deny participating in the murder which was triggered by revenge when the doorman and his staff refused to admit a group of males to the club.
The trial continues.
Source: Sunday Mercury
It is the only pub in Britain where there’s at least one bouncer for every drinker.
And bosses are bitter that they’ve been forced to provide at least two bouncers early doors on Thursday night – at a cost of £14 per man, per hour – during a period when the average number of customers is TWO.
At least one bouncer is needed at 9pm, when the pub is often empty. By 10pm, there must be two doormen and, on weekends, four have to stand guard over the sparse crowd at The Shrew, Rugeley, the local licensing committee has ruled.
It is one of a number of measures imposed following council and police concerns about trouble at the watering hole.
The management has also had to shave half-an-hour from the traditional 3pm ‘last orders’ on Thursday, Friday and Saturday. They’ve also forked out £4,000 on a CCTV security system.
Last night the pub’s leaseholder, Gavin Houston, accused the police of ‘borderline harassment’ in their techniques.
The 31-year-old admitted there have been close to 50 incidents recorded against his pub, but claim many do not stand up to scrutiny.
They include, says Mr Houston, a woman who lost her handbag, which she later found. There was a drunk found in the town graveyard, who admitted he had visited The Shrew hours before. There was a trouble-maker, barred entry from the pub, who walked away and clashed with the police.
Then there was the time management breached a rule preventing new customers from entering the premises after 1.30am by 60 seconds. Officers clocked someone walking through the doors at 1.31am, but bosses insist the time on the pub’s CCTV was 1.29am.
The pub even got a black mark because one lout told police he was on his way to The Shrew, it has been claimed.
Mr Houston is particularly aggrieved about the night that door staff discovered people with drugs in the pub and handed them over to the police.
“The incident was recorded as ‘drugs found at The Shrew’ and constituted another strike against us,” he says. “No mention that we found the drugs, and that we approached the police.
“The attention we get compared to other pubs is on the border of harassment,” complained Mr Houston. “But if this place gets closed down it won’t do the town any good at all.”
He believes officers want the pub shut at 2am simply because the thin blue line won’t stretch to patrolling the town centre in the wee hours. The pub can still serve until midnight during the week.
Last year The Shrew’s future hung in the balance when concerned police and councillors reviewed its licence. The committee altered hours and called for security to be beefed up, including extra bouncers and CCTV.
Landlord John Stead told the Sunday Mercury that those demands have proved a financial drain on the premises.
“Between 9pm and 10pm on a Thursday this place is empty,” the 38-year-old said. “Yet we are paying £14 an hour to two doormen. That’s £28 to look after two customers.”
Mr Stead admits The Shrew had a reputation, but maintains that trouble-makers have been weeded out during his 18 months in charge.
“Our doormen work hard to deal with situations cooly, calmly,” he said. “We have dramatically changed the clientele.
“We have people on lifetime bans, which never happened before. We don’t tolerate trouble. We have worked with the police and council. We have dealt with 90 per cent of the issues, but I feel all the hard work I have done has been for nothing.”
Mr Houston recalled: “There was a report of 20 people fighting outside at 2.45am. There was no trace of them when the police arrived, yet it takes less than a minute for them to get here.”
Mr Stead added The Shrew was blamed when two men were caught ‘acting aggressively’ outside at 3am – when the pub had already closed.
“I’ve worked in Walsall,” he added. “Everybody was constantly fighting there. We have nothing like that.”
Dougie Wilkinson, former manager of the local Pubwatch, which provides licensed premises with a security link, admitted the current situation is unfair, but blamed the Government.
Mr Wilkinson, owner of the U Bar nightspot in neighbouring Cannock, said: “The Government has made a rod for its own back. It opened the doors for everyone to open until two and three in the morning, with the result that police don’t know where to be in a town centre anymore.
“Before the change, police officers knew that after last orders, drinkers would move from pubs to the local nightclub. Officers would position themselves outside the club. Job done.”
Mr Wilkinson sympathised with The Shrew: “Someone can be arrested in a town centre and if your pub or club was the last place he drank at – even if it was simply a couple of gulps – you get the black mark.”
A Staffordshire police spokesman said: “We continue to run Operation Safer Nights in Rugeley and other towns to ensure those visiting have a safe and enjoyable time. Dedicated officers patrol Rugeley town centre during peak business hours and are on hand to deal with any problems swiftly.
“As part of the Operation, they visit licensed premises to ensure they are complying with licensing conditions.
“Our licensing teams work closely with venues to ensure they are operating lawfully and any licensing conditions imposed are adhered to.
“Ultimately we want people to be safe and to feel safe when they are out enjoying themselves and we remain committed to tackling the things that matter most to the communities we serve.”
A spokesman for Cannock Chase District Council outlined the local authority’s stance.
“As a result of issues with the premises Staffordshire Police asked the Premises Licence Holder for the Shrew public house to agree a ‘last entry’ time of 1.30am, with the premises closing at 3pm.
“The Premises Licence holder agreed to this and the Council as the Licensing Authority duly amended the Premises Licence to include these conditions.”
Source: Bolton News
A desperate thief held a knife to the throat of a brave security guard who blocked his escape.
Wayne Driscoll, left, stood his ground and refused to move from a doorway, despite repeated threats that he would be stabbed.
Mr Driscoll’s bravery has now been praised by a judge — while knife-wielding bur- glar Anthony Webb was jailed for two years.
The security guard at the University of Bolton pre- vented Webb from leaving the administration area he was trying to steal from.
Last night, the 48-year-old married father said he was just doing his job and insisted he was no hero. Mr Driscoll, who has been working at the Uni- versity of Bolton for the past seven-and-a-half- years, said: “I feel good that what I did and the police did led to him being caught and locked away for two years.”
He added: “I was not worried when I saw the knife—itiswhatIam trained to do. I am not brave, I was doing my job.”
At Bolton Crown Court yesterday, as Judge Charles Bloom QC jailed Webb, he praised Mr Driscoll.
“He was a very, very brave man. With com- mendable bravery, he stood his ground,” said Judge Bloom.
Geoffrey Southcote- Want, prosecuting, played the court CCTV footage which showed the confrontation just before 10am on Saturday, October 22.
He said Webb entered the building and took food from the kitchen as well as a knife, and also intended to steal electri- cal items.
Source: The Telegraph
European Union citizens will be able to work as security guards at the London Olympics - even if they have only worked in the industry for two years.
According to The Times, European residents from 27 member states - which also includes Iceland, Norway and Liechtenstein - will be able to work in Britain on a “temporary basis” and without undergoing UK security checking procedures.
To apply for a license from the Security Industry Authority (SIA), British workers must first obtain qualifications before being put under security checks.
However, EU citizens will be able to work at this summer's Olympics and need only to provide evidence of working within the industry for two years in the last decade, as long as they do not have criminal convictions. This includes workers from countries that do not have a security licensing system in place.
Lord Carlile of Berriew, QC, told the newspaper (£) that security workers should only be allowed to work during the Games if they were vetted under similar procedures to Britain's rules.
In a speech last month, Home Secretary Theresa May gave details of the "largest ever peacetime logistical operation" in the UK as she outlined the security measures being readied for London 2012.
Whilst stating that the operation would need to be "robust" in order to deliver "a safe and secure" Games, in the same breath Mrs May declared her wish to prevent a heavy-handed approach.
“It should be a regime which is broadly similar to our own and must include credible checks," he said. "There are countries in which the incorruptibility of licensing regimes are not as strong as they are in the UK.
Source: Falmouth Packet
A Redruth doorman was forced to defend himself with a dustbin lid shield after a former chef at Jamie Oliver’s “Fifteen” restaurant threatened to attack him with a makeshift “sword”, a court heard.
Ryan Nicholas Jacobs, of Redruth pleaded guilty to threatening Steven Smith, a door supervisor at the Rose Cottage Tavern, with the weapon on December 22 last year.
He had been drinking at a friend’s house for approximately six hours prior to the incident and was described as “nine out of ten on the scale of drunkenness,” by Tony Brown, from the probation service.
He turned up at the Rose Cottage despite being banned through the town’s Pub Watch Scheme and became increasingly aggressive towards door staff when he was asked to leave, Truro Magistrates’ Court heard last Thursday.
Anita Kennett, for the prosecution, said: “Because he was so drunk, his punches were missing the doorman. He was pushed away and sent on his way.”
When he returned “a while later,” he was armed with “a pole or pipe, about three feet in length – rather like a sword,” Mrs Kennett said.
“He was waving it around and Mr Smith was sufficiently concerned that he picked up a dustbin lid to use as a shield,” she added.
Jacobs, who is an asthmatic father of two that lives with his mother, was then pushed to the ground and restrained.
Robin Smith, defending the 27-year-old, said: “Prior to July of last year he had been a regular drinker at the Rose Cottage and he did genuinely think the ban he was given had expired.
“He accepts that he had been drinking rather too much at his friend’s house on this Thursday afternoon before Christmas and he thought he would stop into the Rose Cottage to renew old acquaintances.”
Mr Smith said Jacobs would “never dream of hitting anyone” with the hollow pole, “it is just something he did in a haze of drink and a fit of anger,” he added.
The court considered a community order, but did not want to adversely affect Jacobs new found employment, as a scallop fisher off the coast of Wales earning £1000 a week.
Instead, they imposed a 12 weeks prison sentence, suspended for 12 months with the condition that he does not enter any licensed premises in Redruth during that time.
“The consequence of a breach of that order banning entry would be going to prison,” said Sarah Curnow, chair of the magistrates.
Jacobs was also made subject to a 12 month drink banning order and ordered to pay £85 costs.
Source: Daily Mail
CCTV at a Manchester club captured the dramatic moment when an innocent bystander was stabbed in the neck as a group of men attacked its door staff. Video here
The 25-year-old victim suffered a deep wound to his neck during the terrifying incident in the early hours of Saturday morning as the group forced their way into the club.
He was rushed to hospital where he underwent surgery over the weekend.
Police were called to the K2 nightclub on George Street in the China Town district of Manchester City Centre at around 2.20am after being alerted by the ambulance service.
The victim remains in hospital, where his condition is described as stable.
He has yet to be interviewed by police, but detectives have recovered the club's CCTV which captured the incident and are appealing to the public for anyone with any information to come forward.
Officers have now released footage of the attack on Saturday 28 January, in a bid to trace the suspected offender who was wearing a white hooded top, blue jeans and white trainers, and is described as in his late teens or early 20s and around 5ft 8in tall.
Detective Constable Ian Hatfield, said: 'The victim has suffered a deep wound to his neck and is fortunate not to be fighting for his life in hospital.
'We have yet to speak to him to find out what happened, but from viewing the CCTV it appears he was an innocent party who has been targeted for no reason whatsoever.
'I would urge people to look closely at the CCTV and if you recognise the offender or anyone else in the group trying to force their way into the bar, please come forward.'
A spokesman for the North West Ambulance Service confirmed that they attended the club at 2.14am on Saturday where the male victim was discovered to be conscious but bleeding heavily from an injury to the cheek/throat area and he was taken to the Manchester Royal Infirmary for treatment.
Anyone with information is asked to call Manchester police on 0161 856 3540, or Crimestoppers, anonymously, on 0800 555 111.
Source: The Guardian
Locog chief says military personnel guarding Olympic venues will answer only to senior Games officials or the police.
Military personnel deployed to guard Olympic venues this summer will not take orders from private security staff and will be answerable only to senior Games officials or the police, the head of the organising committee has said.
Speaking at the launch of a recruitment drive by the security firm G4S, which is seeking to take on at least 10,000 guards for the event, Paul Deighton, head of the London Games organising committee (Locog) said civilian and military security teams would work side by side but separately.
"The way we'll integrate is to give them discreet chunks of the activity," he said. While both G4S and military personnel might be in the same venue they would each take complete tasks, such as checking cars or searching bags.
Military guards would not take orders from G4S, he said.
"The chain of command on the ground all goes into our venue general manager, who is from Locog. There will be a G4S chain of command for private security, and a military chain of command, which get co-ordinated together," Deighton said.
If there is a security incident then control will be taken by the police, not the army, he added. G4S, however, will be responsible for rostering all staff to make sure enough are on duty.
Organisers announced in December that around 7,000 military personnel be on duty for the Games as part of an effort to expand the total security detail from 10,000 to nearly 24,000. G4S will recruit 10,000 or more temporary staff for this number, with the remainder coming from a recruitment scheme for students, and volunteers. The expanded numbers has seen the Olympics security bill almost double from £282m to £553m, a figure separate from the £600m within the Games budget for police provision outside the venues.
While military personnel would not automatically take more sensitive or skilled work – they will have the same training as the private staff – the separation of duties would inevitably mean some occasions or venues being predominantly guarded by the troops, said Deighton.
He confirmed they would wear uniform: "You'll know they are in the military. They'll be in military gear."
But echoing a pledge from the London 2012 chairman, Lord Coe, Deighton said this did not mean the security operation would appear overly intense or intrusive.
He said: "The way they'll do the job will be in a very efficient and welcoming way. It won't be intimidating. Remember, it's a sports event with a security overlay, not a security event with a bit of sport going on."
Thursday's event saw G4S formally opening their Games recruitment and training centre, based in a slightly crumbling former secondary school on a residential street near the Games compound in Stratford, east London.
Around 4,500 of the planned 10,000 guards had already been taken on, said Mark Hamilton, head of the firm's Olympics team. "In terms of our recruitment we're above target – we're doing very well," he said. Staff will earn a minimum of £8.50 an hour.
Recruitment is focusing in particular on the boroughs around the Olympic site, an area of significant deprivation. The opening of the centre marked a key moment in ensuring the Games brought a positive, longterm legacy to east London, Deighton said.
"We're switching from planning stuff to really doing it. This recruitment is the beginning of the process of the operational delivery, the massive mobilisation.
"The big promise of the Games, which we take incredibly seriously, was to deliver economic and social benefits to the host boroughs around the Olympic Park," Deighton said.
While the G4S jobs are temporary, staff will leave with a three-year security licence allowing them to take work elsewhere in the industry, and Deighton said he hope many recruits would use the event as a catalyst for their career.
"Jobs change lives. That's a big part of the economic and social legacy, and this is one of the biggest employment opportunities that the Games creates."
Source: Halifax Courier
This haul of drugs was seized by door staff at pubs and clubs across Halifax.
The bags of cocaine were all handed into officers from Halifax Central neighbourhood policing team
The police say anti-drug use posters have been handed out to pubs, bars and clubs across the district.
They warn drug users who are arrested could find themselves being barred from all the licensed premises in Calderdale as well as being prosecuted.
Inspector Simon Spencer, who leads the Halifax Central neighbourhood policing team, thanked workers at pubs and clubs for their help.
He said: “These dugs have been seized thanks to the diligence and vigilance of door staff who are determined to help us tackle drug use in Calderdale.
Anyone with information about drugs in their area should call police via 101 or Crimestoppers on 0800 555111.
Source: Barnet Press
The killing of a nightclub bouncer outside his home in Finchley was the result of a "joint enterprise" by six men, a court heard on Tuesday.
Bogdan Gabriel Paduret, known as Tony to friends, was shot in a friend's car outside his home in Tillingbourne Gardens as he arrived home from work at the Mayfair Club in Dover Street, Picadilly, at 6am on November 27, 2010.
John Otugade, 19 ,of Stamford Road, Islington, Troy Shaw, 20, of Wharfside Point, Tower Hamlets, Danny Dixon, 30, of Sheffield Square, Bow, Errol Jeffrey, 29, of Mellish Street, Tower Hamlets and Christopher N'Jie, 19, of Pennyfields, Tower Hamlets, deny murder.
Sibigam Ekpikpo, 56, has also been charged with murder and is awaiting trial.
At the Old Bailey trial the jury heard that three weeks earlier Romanian born Mr Paduret was involved in a fight outside the club after refusing entry to around ten men in their 20s.
The court also heard that on the night before his killing, Tony had been spat at and punched by a young man he had been ejecting from the club.
Mayfair general manager told the court that he heard the man tell Tony: "You don't know who the f*** I am. You don't know what you've done. You're a dead man."
"In club land you get those sort of threats all the time," he added.
Setting out the case for the prosecution Crispin Aylett QC told the jury that Mr Paduret's killing had been organised by Jeffrey, with Otugade the gunman and N'Jie driving him too and from the scene on a motorcycle. Shaw, Dixon and Ekpikpo are alleged to have acted as "spotters" to identify and keep tabs on Mr Paduret.
He told the jury: "This was a result of a joint enterprise or a common purpose in which each of these defendants played different but important parts in bringing about, what the prosecution allege, was a carefully planned execution; a hit in other words. They were all in it together, each playing his part, knowing how it was going to end.
"All those involved in this joint enterprise knew that Bogdan Paduret was not just going to be beaten up. After all, he was 6ft 5in tall, he weighed 15 stone and you may think, and the defence must have thought, tackling him without a weapon would certainly have proved to have been an ambitious undertaking.
"Instead there were just two men in crash helmets and the weren't there for a fight were they? They were their to shoot him dead."
The case continues.
Source: Bath Chronicle
Two police officers accused of racially abusing a doorman at a Christmas party in Bath were today cleared by a jury
PC Peter Lawson and special constable Philip Upton were alleged to have sworn and hurled racist abuse at a doorman at the Hall and Woodhouse bar and restaurant.
The Wiltshire police officers who were attached to the road policing unit at Chippenham sat expressionless in the dock at they were found not guilty by a jury.
Mr Lawson, aged 38, of Anzio Road, Devizes, who denied one charge of racially aggravated fear or provocation of violence and Mr Upton, aged 29, of Suffolk Road, Westbury, who denied one charge of racially aggravated intentional harassment, alarm or distress, will now be the subject of an assessment by the Wiltshire Police Professional Standards Department to determine if their conduct was below standard.
In a statement read after the outcome of the trial, Superintendent Paul Mills, head of the Professional Standards Directorate at Wiltshire Police, said: "We are satisfied this incident was fully investigated by Avon and Somerset Police and we accept the court's verdict.
"Wiltshire Police Professional Standards Department will now internally review the outcome of the case and assess whether the officers' conduct has fallen below the standards of professional behaviour."
Jurors heard during the week-long trial at Bristol Crown Court how the officers had been drinking at the upmarket Hall and Woodhouse bar and restaurant in Old King Street, Bath, On December 10, 2010, when Italian Olive-skinned doorman Antonio Leo, was allegedly sworn at, called "foreign" and "Polish" and told to go back to his own country.
The court heard that the bar has a "zero tolerance policy" and the group of officers was asked to leave due to their allegedly "boisterous" behaviour.
Mr Lawson, a former RAF air dispatcher and a police officer of seven years, said he was drinking his fourth pint of the evening when he became aware of 39-year-old Mr Leo and the others getting up to leave before the doorman came over to him and asked him to go.
He claimed the doorman had leant over and grabbed his beer glass, pouring the contents over him.
"I said nothing to Mr Leo. I didn't manage to stand fully. I was bent over and the next thing I knew I was in a headlock," said Mr Lawson.
He said he was dragged outside quickly by Mr Leo and felt embarrassed and unfairly treated.
He said he had not been shouting or swearing when he then asked Mr Leo why he had been chucked out.
The officer denied using any racist language.
Also giving evidence, Mr Upton, said he had been invited to the traffic section Christmas do and had already been drinking in Bath before going to the Hall and Woodhouse bar.
He said he had been touching a pot plant there and was asked not to by the manager.
He said later Mr Leo came over and politely asked the group to leave so he got up.
When he was outside he said Lawson came out in a headlock "practically running" and it struck him that the doorman's behaviour would not be acceptable for a police officer.
Mr Upton said he told Mr Leo that he was "out of order".
He added: "I didn't use bad or racist language at all, nor did I hear any swearing or racism."
The former special constable said the racial element had been made up but conceded he had been a "bit cheeky."
A Wiltshire Police spokeswoman confirmed that Mr Upton had resigned from the Force and Mr Lawson had been on restricted duties following the allegations.
She added: "It was only right that the allegation was thoroughly investigated.
"We expect the highest standards of our police officers and staff. Police officers should behave in a professional and respectful manner at all times and it is never acceptable for officers to use racist language.
"Any inappropriate behaviour, whether on or off duty, will be investigated and appropriate action taken."
Source: BBC News
A doorman at a nightclub in London's West End was gunned down after refusing entry to a group of people, a court heard today.
Bogdan Paduret was shot twice in the head as he returned home from a shift at the Mayfair Club near Piccadilly on 27 November 2010.
John Otugade, 19, Troy Shaw, 20, Danny Dixon, 29, Errol Jeffrey, 29, and Christopher N'Jie, 19, deny murder.
Prosecutor Crispin Aylett QC called the crime "callous and casual".
Romanian Mr Paduret, known as Tony, was shot outside his house in Temple Fortune, north London, in front of his friend Constantin Cimpan who had given him a lift home from work.
'Underworld celebrity'
The Old Bailey heard that three weeks earlier Mr Paduret had refused to allow a group of about 10 people into the club, and a fight broke out.
Mr Aylett said Mr Paduret must have had a "high profile in that fight" because he was the head doorman, 6ft 5in tall and had long hair tied up in a bun.
He said: "It may be that it was Jeffrey who was least able to forget or forgive the slight that he and his friends had suffered.
"Tony Paduret had simply been doing his job. Nonetheless, Jeffrey and his friends must have felt that they had not been shown the respect to which they considered themselves entitled," Mr Aylett told the court.
The prosecution said that John Otugade, from Hackney, was the gunman, and that he fled on a motorbike driven by Christopher N'Jie, from the Isle of Dogs.
Mr Aylett said that Mr Otugade had "almost certainly never met" the victim
He said: "Otugade was looking to make a name for himself - to acquire a degree of underworld celebrity - by doing someone else's dirty work.
"The dirty work, the prosecution suggest, of the second defendant, Errol Jeffrey."
It is alleged that Troy Shaw from Poplar, east London, Mr Jeffrey, and Danny Dixon from Hounslow, west London, acted as "spotters" to keep tabs on where Mr Paduret was.
The case continues.
Source: Bath Chronicle
A Bath doorman has told a jury how a drunk off-duty police officer brandished his beer glass at him and racially abused him after he was told to leave a bar.
Antonio Leo said PC Peter Lawson had an "aggressive" attitude when he politely asked him to leave the Hall and Woodhouse pub.
The Italian doorman said the first thing the officer said to him was: "You can't speak proper English you Polish b.....d."
Mr Leo said he was "scared" when the officer then stood up and pointed his beer glass at him.
The court heard the 38-year-old defendant, of Anzio Road, Devizes, was grabbed in a headlock by the doorman and taken outside.
However, Mr Leo said a second officer, ginger-haired Philip Upton, then started to be aggressive and abusive to him, calling him a "foreign b*****d" and threatening to take his licence off him.
He said 29-year-old Upton, of Suffolk Road, Westbury, had been in his face and he felt physically threatened.
Upton denies one charge of racially aggravated intentional harassment, alarm and distress.
Lawson denies one charge of racially aggravated fear or provocation of violence.
Giving evidence in their trial at Bristol Crown Court, Mr Leo told how he felt scared and physically threatened after asking a group of Wiltshire police officers to leave the Hall and Woodhouse bar in Old King Street, Bath, on the night of December 10, 2010.
"The manager, Adrian, came up to me. He said there was a large group of men. They were abusive and drunk and misbehaving towards the customers. There were a lot of complaints about them.
"He said I should go to the table of the gentlemen and ask them to leave the premises.
"I went up to them. I was nice and polite and explained my position and what was the demands of the manager," said Mr Leo.
He told how Lawson, who he described as being tall with very short hair and aged 40 to 45, had a "very aggressive attitude."
"The first thing he said to me was 'you can't speak proper English you Polish b*****d'. I found this was really hurtful because I am a nice man, a professional man. I was just doing my duty.
"After that I asked him to leave. He became more aggressive. He was using abusive words and racial words.
"After I asked him to leave he stood up with threatening behaviour with his glass towards me. I was worried he would smash the glass in my face. I was scared for myself. I thought I was in danger. I thought it would kick off," said Mr Leo.
He said he then took the officer outside in a headlock followed by his assistant, Paul Owen.
Mr Leo said Upton then started to be abusive to him.
"He said to me 'we could take your licence away you foreign b*****d'. I was very upset.
"He was very aggressive. He was in my face, abusing me, saying all the words he could think of. I felt physically threatened because he was coming towards me.
"Paul and I decided to shut the front door because people with kids and families were watching. People were scared," said Mr Leo .
He said Upton was aggressive and kicked the glass doors when they were shut.
Also giving evidence Paul Owen told how Lawson had refused to leave the venue when asked by Mr Leo.
He said the PC had said: "I'm not going anywhere. I will knock you out."
He added: "Within a few seconds that man rose from his seat with a pint glass in his hand. I thought, oh my God, he's going to glass Tony. Tony took the glass out of his hand and took him out of the premises."
Mr Owen said he heard his colleague being racially abused by both Lawson and Upton.
He said outside the bar Upton had been "very irate" about leaving.
"He said 'I'm not having this' and pushed towards me. He was held back by members of the group. I would definitely, 100%, have been physically attacked if he wasn't held back, said Mr Owen.
During the fracas outside he said Upton had told him "your mate needs to learn English."
He said the police were called and the group of officers left the scene.
Mr Owen told how by chance he had met Upton again on December 18, 2010 when he was stopped in his car in Trowbridge by officers.
He said he recognised red-haired Upton and his colleague, who he said was derogatory about Mr Leo, calling him a "no neck" and a "thug".
He said he told Mr Leo the following evening that he had met the officers and knew who they were and phoned the police.
"I said 'remember that group of men. They were police officers'. He said 'no way.'"
He told the jury he had felt "insulted" by the officers' attitude, adding "I have lost a massive amount of respect for the police as a result. It has caused me a lot of anxiety."
The trial continues.
