A central London restaurant famous for its dim sum has been stripped of its licence after at least 20 illegal workers were arrested at the premises in a series of Home Office raids.
Royal China in Baker Street has paid fines totalling £470,000 following three visits by immigration officers between 2018 and this year.
Westminster council on Thursday banned the Chinese restaurant from selling alcohol to diners, playing music and serving hot food after 11pm over the failure to conduct right to work checks.
Immigration Officer Leonard Johnson described the venue as the “worst licensed premises” the Home Office had come across in the borough.
One worker who was arrested during a surprise visit reported doing 66 hours a week while earning just £6-an-hour, the Home Office said. Minimum wage is £11.44 an hour.
In October 2018 nine people were found to be working illegally there and arrested.
They included two women and one man originally from China who entered the UK illegally and three Malaysian men and three Chinese women who had overstayed, or were in breach of their visa conditions.
One Chinese woman, who had admitted to entering Britain illegally, escaped when the fire alarm was deliberately set off, the report to Westminster council states.
The council’s Environmental Health Officer said the sting had been of particular concern as the fire alarm was set off in a bid to “create mayhem” and allow one woman to escape.
“They cannot be trusted to create a safe environment for members of the public,” he told the licensing committee.
The Home Office fined the restaurant £80,000 over this first breach.A second sting in May 2019 uncovered two Chinese nationals who had “overstayed their visas and had no right to work” were acting as employees in Royal China. It resulted in a £30,000 penalty.
During a raid on May 10 this year nine workers - almost a third of the staff on at the time - were arrested in by Central London ICE Team and the business slapped with a £360,000 fine.
Royal China Group owns six restaurants in London, including the upmarket Royal China Club, also on Baker Street, as well as a venue in Dubai.
Councillor Maggie Carman asked whether any of Royal China Group’s other restaurants were also being investigated but was told the premises at 24-26 Baker Street was the only one being looked at by the Home Office.
“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.
Royal China has been contacted for comment. The company did not send a representative to the licensing committee to offer any mitigation to the Home Office’s findings.
