London’s former night czar, Amy Lamé, has backed down after calling for a “battle” against the decision to temporarily close the LGBTQ+ nightclub, Heaven - following an allegation a bouncer raped a woman near the venue.
The popular central London club was closed on Friday (November 15) for a period of 28 days, after the Metropolitan Police successfully applied to Westminster City Council to suspend the venue’s licence until a full hearing can take place.
It came after the council was told, at an initial hearing on Friday, that a woman was allegedly raped in the vicinity of the venue by a member of security staff on November 1.
The Met said a member of security staff was arrested and charged with rape, and is on remand in prison.
The hearing into the incident on Friday was told that when the woman tried to report the attack, other staff allegedly ignored her.
But in a post on Instagram shortly after the closure was announced, ex-City Hall official Ms Lamé suggested the decision was the unfair result of “institutionalised homophobia” and “a legally questionable interpretation of licensing regulations”.
She has since edited the post twice, including by inserting a line to express sympathy for the victim of the reported rape, and to say that the club faces “grave safety issues” which it must “urgently” address.
Until last month, Ms Lamé had served for eight years under mayor Sadiq Khan in a role which City Hall described as “championing London's nightlife both in the UK and internationally, including safeguarding venues across the city”.
In her Instagram post, Ms Lamé initially called the decision to close the club “controversial”, adding: “Our community is being held to double standards, targeted by institutional homophobia and is the victim of legally questionable interpretation of licensing restrictions. Let the battle commence. #SaveHeaven.”
Neil Garratt, the leader of City Hall Conservatives said this was an “absolutely disgusting response from our disgraced ex-night czar”.
In a post on X, formerly Twitter, he added: “Trying to make herself to be the victim, when there is a very clear victim who deserves everyone's utmost sympathy. What an appalling response to a human tragedy.”
Within a few hours, Ms Lamé had edited her post to remove the word “controversial” from the description of the club’s closure and to clarify that her “thoughts and heart is with the victim of the very serious alleged crime”.
She also prefaced her earlier claims about homophobia and questionable legality, by saying that she was “concerned” about whether they played a role in the decision, rather than stating that they objectively did.
In a third edit to the post over the weekend, the former night czar said the decision to close the club was taken “due to grave safety issues which the venue must work urgently to address”. Despite acknowledging this, she retained the #SaveHeaven hashtag at the bottom of the post.
She then called the alleged crime “heinous”, adding: “I have worked my whole life for LGBTQ+ equality and ending violence against women and girls. I am a survivor myself, and speak from lived experience.
“This is a complicated and complex situation, and solutions will only be found through working together in partnership.”
A Westminster City Council spokesperson said last week: “Following a request from the Metropolitan Police, and considering evidence from both the police and the operator, the council’s licensing committee has decided to suspend Heaven’s licence for 28 days.
“We recognise this venue’s cultural significance but the committee agreed this step is necessary to prevent serious crime and protect the public.
“A full licensing hearing will be held in December where both the police and venue management will have the opportunity to present new evidence.
“This case is currently subject of an ongoing police investigation, and we are unable to comment further at this stage.”
Heaven posted on Instagram to say: “We are sickened by this allegation but can't comment as it is an ongoing criminal investigation. We can only send out thoughts to the alleged victim.”
