Three stabbed in Arcadian bar as police slate 'catastrophic failures'

A city centre bar where three people were stabbed, one of them grievously injured, has been told it can reopen after a temporary closure. News has just emerged of the trouble that broke out in the early hours of November 2 at Nox Bar, formerly TMRW, in The Arcadian in Hurst Street.

Bar furniture was used in the resulting brawl, and three people were stabbed, according to reports to the council of the incident. But after being temporarily closed, councillors have agreed the venue management could retain its licence, subject to strict new conditions. Its boss Manoochehr Esmaili was told he could no longer be the designated premises supervisor.

The bar is run by UK.BM.Power Entertainment Limited, a company formed in July this year and owned by Dayrush Karchi, of Worlds End Avenue, Quinton. At the private licensing hearing (Monday November 18) councillors were told that a major disorder occurred at the bar at around 2am on November 2 this year. "As a result of the incident three persons were stabbed."

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The licence for the premises was temporarily suspended during an emergency review meeting on November 6, and this week's (Monday) hearing was to determine the next steps. West Midlands Police had pressed for the licence to be suspended because of the failures of the licensee to avert serious crime and disorder on the premises.

Police are continuing to investigate the circumstances, councillors were told. In a written report on the issue, police investigators said they found 'numerous aspects of the management style were unsatisfactory'. Risk assessments, security arrangements and the handling of the incident itself were all troubling.

The council report said: "Three persons had been stabbed and a large-scale disorder had broken out, including the use of bar furniture as weapons. The police confirmed that as a result of what had been seen thus far, they had no confidence in the licenceholder....breaches of the licence conditions were suspected." The police described the circumstances of the incident as "a catastrophic failure", the report to the council's licensing committee stated.

Police told licensing committee members that a 'lack of management control had led to the incident, and that therefore the incident could happen again.' It was their recommendation that the incident had been so serious, and the risk to the upholding of the crime prevention objective so grave, that specific interim steps were required. "The safety of the public was at risk," they wrote.

Mr Esmaili accepted the incident had happened, and that he had been on the premises that night, and told members he 'always cared about patrons'.

After deliberating in private and hearing representations from the club owners and the police, Cllr Diane Donaldson, chairing the hearing, said the interim suspension imposed on November 6 should be lifted, with conditions proposed by West Midlands Police to be adopted as an interim step, pending a full review. Last entry time will be 01.30am, as recommended by the police.

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The bar premises is one of the independent premises that make up The Arcadian. Arcadian management said in a statement today: "We are aware of an incident that took place at Nox Bar on Saturday 2^nd November and have been fully cooperating with the police on this matter.

"As this is an ongoing investigation, we are unable to comment further on the specifics of the incident. While the venue in question operates independently, we are committed to supporting the authorities and all stakeholders in addressing concerns raised regarding its management. We are also working closely with our solicitors to ensure that appropriate measures are taken to uphold the safety of our visitors.”

We have contacted West Midlands Police for comment and to check on the status of their investigation, including the conditions of victims.