A LONDON dim sum restaurant has had its licence stripped after repeatedly being caught employing illegal workers.
Royal China on Baker Street has been fined almost half a million pounds over three separate stings since 2018, during which time 20 illegal employees have been arrested.
In a written submission to Westminster City Council, an Immigration Officer described the restaurant as “the worst licensed premises in Westminster” the Home Office is dealing with for illegal working.
The department added workers employed by Royal China, which is owned by the Royal China Group, reported being paid less than the minimum wage rand working excessive hours. “One worker reported that they worked washing dishes 11 hours per day, 6 days per week and earning £400 a week (around £6 per hour compared to the minimum wage of £11.44 per hour),” the officer wrote.
The first visit by the Central London Immigration Compliance and Enforcement (ICE) team, in October 2018, found nine members of staff working illegally, and the restaurant slapped with an £80,000 penalty.
This was followed by a revisit in May 2019, when another two illegal workers were caught, and a further £30,000 having to be paid out. And in May this year, another nine workers were arrested, with a huge £360,000 fine administered, taking the total to £470,000.
Backed by the police, the licensing authority and the council’s environmental health service, the Home Office requested Westminster revoke Royal China’s existing licence, describing it as “not in compliance with its legal requirements”.
At a licensing sub-committee meeting held this morning (August 15), Immigration Officer Leonard Johnson reiterated it is a legal requirement for employers in the UK to carry out right to work checks, and again described the restaurant as the ‘worst licensed premises’ the department is working with for illegal working in the borough.
The council’s Environmental Health Officer, Kudzaishe Mondhlani, said a particular concern was that, during the Home Office’s first visit, the fire alarm was set off in a bid to ‘create mayhem’.
“They cannot be trusted to create a safe environment for members of the public,” he told the committee.
Chair Cllr Maggie Carman asked Johnson whether any of the Royal China Group’s other restaurants are also being investigated, to which she was told the premises at 24-26 Baker Street is the only one being looked into at present.
“How unusual is it, it seems quite unusual to me, that a business can stump up £470,000 in fines just like that and still carry on as a business? It just doesn’t add up,” she said.
Johnson acknowledged ‘something doesn’t add up’, and that the number of illegal workers found over the three visits was not something the department typically encounters.
The licensee’s decision not to attend the meeting was also raised, with PC Steve Muldoon, representing the Met Police, describing their absence as ‘disappointing’. Following a brief recess, councillors announced their decision to revoke the restaurant’s licence.
The Royal China Group owns restaurants in spots including Fulham and Harrow-on-the-Hill, as well as two on Baker Street.
(Local Democracy Reporting Service)
During the hearing, Clifford denied all the charges except for the rape charge, which was added to the indictment at the session. (Photo: Hertfordshire Police /Handout via REUTERS)
Man pleads not guilty to murder of BBC presenter's family
A 26-year-old man has pleaded not guilty to charges of murdering the wife and two daughters of BBC sports commentator John Hunt in a crossbow and knife attack.
Kyle Clifford, who also faces charges of rape, appeared via video link at Cambridge Crown Court on Thursday.
Clifford, arrested in July after a manhunt, is charged with three counts of murder, one count each of rape and false imprisonment, and two counts of possessing offensive weapons – a 10-inch knife and a crossbow.
During the hearing, Clifford denied all the charges except for the rape charge, which was added to the indictment at the session.
He is expected to enter a plea for that charge at a later date.
The victims were Carol Hunt, 61, wife of horseracing commentator John Hunt, and their daughters Louise, 25, and Hannah, 28.
An earlier hearing revealed that Louise had been found tied up and that both she and her sister had been shot with a crossbow, while their mother had been stabbed with a knife.
The fatal attack occurred at the family’s home in Bushey, a commuter town near Watford, northwest of London.
(With inputs from AFP)