A spat over Sayers family plans to sell mulled wine and hot toddies on Northumberland Street is on hold – after police sensationally alleged that it might pave the way for a bar that could be a “legitimate front” for organised crime.
John Henry Sayers Jr, son of the notorious John Henry Sayers Sr, had asked Newcastle City Council chiefs late last year for a licence to serve alcohol from his Saye’s To Go food kiosk at the bottom of the high street, hoping to offer shoppers a festive tipple over the Christmas period.
But his plan ran into fierce opposition from Northumbria Police, whose officers claimed it should not be allowed to go ahead because of his father’s infamous record in Newcastle’s criminal underworld.
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The dispute was set to come to a head at a council licensing sub-committee hearing on Tuesday, but was cut short and the application withdrawn after a row amid remarkable new claims made by the force.
In an evidence statement lodged with the council ahead of the hearing, Chief Inspector David Wheeler alleged that the application was an attempt by Mr Sayers Sr to obtain a licence that could act as a precursor to a “more significant operation going forward such as a bar or a late-night venue and to create a legitimate front/venue for serious organised criminal activity”.
Barrister Jeremy Barton, representing Mr Sayers Jr at Tuesday’s virtual hearing, said that the police evidence he received on Monday contained a “wealth of material that is inaccurate and in dispute” – warning that it was “highly sensitive, highly prejudicial, and does not directly concern the applicant”.
Mr Barton insisted that Mr Sayers Sr was “not an applicant in this matter” and claimed that the “unsavoury and quite unpleasant” police statement could cause the committee of city councillors to become prejudiced against his son, who had claimed ahead of the meeting that police were “trying to punish me for being my father's son” and said he had no convictions.
But CI Wheeler had asserted that the senior Sayers did in fact appear to be connected to the application for the food and drink stand on the basis that he and his son shared a solicitor, the business is registered to an address that he “is linked to and is believed to live in”, and because Companies House documents suggest that he may own a share in the company.
CI Wheeler wrote that Mr Sayers Sr was associated with “serious and significant” offending and referenced the 2015 Tup Tup shooting, after which the hardman was jailed for perverting the course of justice by getting convicted killer Michael McDougall to falsely confess to the crime.
He added that police believe that the shooting of a doorman outside the nightclub was “arranged and carried out in retaliation to” Mr Sayers Jr being assaulted and ejected from the venue – though a jury found Mr Sayers Sr not guilty of ordering the hit.
Northumbria Police’s barrister, James Kemp, told Tuesday’s meeting that the events referenced in the evidence were a “matter of public record” and that Mr Sayers Sr’s connection was “quite clearly” relevant.
Mr Barton initially requested an adjournment to the hearing to allow time to fully respond to the police’s accusations.
But, given that the application itself would only have allowed temporary sales of alcohol until the end of February in any case, it was decided to withdraw the proposals entirely – after the council promised that doing so would not cause any prejudice against Mr Sayers Jr if and when he returns with a subsequent application.
Committee chair Coun Linda Wright said the move was “the best way forward” and would allow the kiosk to “get in early” with a similar application before next Christmas.
The police had also objected to the application on the basis that it was contrary to a council order banning the drinking of alcohol in public spaces, while city centre councillor Jane Byrne warned it “could cause problems for shoppers, businesses visitors and local residents due to anti-social behaviour”.
Ahead of the hearing, Mr Sayers Jr said he was an “energetic entrepreneur with various businesses within this city” and that he and business partner Lynne Holmes “should be applauded for our enterprise and initiative in encouraging a larger street trade to our city”.
The Sayers family declined to comment further after the hearing.
