Clapham club shut down after man stabbed to death in brawl outside venue

A Clapham club has been shut down after a 24-year-old man was stabbed to death in a fight outside the venue.

Lambeth Council said it had ‘lost confidence’ in the management of Dirty Blonde Club on Wandsworth Road, following the incident in September where Dontae McLaren was murdered.

The club was ordered to temporarily close earlier in October by the council after the Metropolitan Police said it had concerns further violence could occur if the venue remained open.

Dynzell Patrick, 26, was charged with the murder of Mr McLaren on October 3. He is due to appear at the Central Criminal Court on December 23.

Tyanne Corbin, 25, and Hamid Hamdi, 25, appeared at Central Criminal Court on October 14 charged with causing Mr McLaren grievous bodily harm with intent, and violent disorder. They are due to appear at Kingston Crown Court on November 6. 

A 26-year-old man arrested on suspicion of violent disorder and causing grievous bodily harm is currently on bail.

The Met, which requested the review of the Dirty Blonde Club’s licence, said it was worried that the club’s management was not up to scratch.

In documents submitted to the council in October, the Met wrote: “Police currently have concerns about how this venue is being run, as knives have been spotted inside the venue despite being informed that there is a robust search regime in place and there is also a lack of CCTV.” 

Announcing the decision to revoke the club’s licence on Friday (October 25), Councillor Adrian Garden, chair of the licensing hearing, said: “Members determined there was sufficient evidence to show breaches of the current licence, which indicated that the premises were being operated in a way that undermined the licensing objectives. 

“Unfortunately members were not satisfied that going forward the premises licence holder could be trusted to operate the premises consistently with the licensing objectives. Members were not satisfied that the other less onerous steps available to them would likely achieve this end objective. Therefore revocation is the only appropriate option.”

Dirty Blonde Club previously opened until 4.30am on weekends and 2.30am on weekdays. The licensing committee heard all evidence in private, due to the ongoing criminal investigation into the murder of Mr McLaren.