Mayor's office: shutting fabric "would be like closing the Royal Albert Hall"

Figures close to Mayor of London Sadiq Khan believe that the Metropolitan Police’s Chief Licensing Officer was “convinced” that fabric should be shut down and that an undercover operation at the club had “an agenda” behind it. They also reckoned that losing the legendary venue “would be like closing the Royal Albert Hall”.

This has been revealed in emails between members of the Mayor of London's team and the Greater London Authority (GLA) obtained by Mixmag under the Freedom of Information act. The previously unseen emails – sent between August 17 and September 8 – also show how concerned the members were about fabric’s future and the attempts they and Khan made to save the club.

When news first broke that the Metropolitan Police was seeking a review of the club’s licence, GLA Head of Music Paul Broadhurst emailed colleagues to report his discussions with fabric: "The club say that Met and Islington haven't supported them in dealing with the deaths, both of which were tragic incidents that the club took very seriously, but ultimately were beyond their control - the club having some of the most robust security procedures and support in place for clubbers."

A few days later, Deputy Mayor for Culture Justine Simons raised her own concerns. She emailed Broadhurst: “Are we OK on fabric?” Broadhurst replied to say that the Met’s Ian Graham, “is convinced that fabric needs to lose its licence and he has told this to fabric and Islington”. He added that the Met’s decision to use the codename ‘Lenor’, a reference to the fabric softener, for an undercover operation at the club made it look like “the police went in with an agenda”.

Unsurprisingly, Simons was not reassured. In response, she emailed Broadhurst: “Should we be trying to flush out this independent action by [the] Met”, adding: “If it closes it will be a massive blow, for the club as well as us, having made such a big deal about the importance of our nightlife.”

As influential figures from the dance music world and beyond came together in support of fabric, the Mayor’s office held a series of secret meetings and phone calls in an attempt to broker a solution. They involved fabric, senior officers at the Met, Islington Council, and even the Night Mayor of Amsterdam. As we now know, the meetings – held between August 16 and September 2 – were unsuccessful.

At 1am on 7 September, as the decision to close the club was announced at the end of a gruelling meeting at Islington Town Hall, Broadhurst emailed the Deputy Mayors for Culture and Policing: “Awful outcome,” he said. “Very unexpected. Fabric have lost their licence.” Shortly afterwards, he added: “This is a big shock, and hard to explain having sat through the whole hearing. It will have major repercussions.” Responding to an email from a concerned member of the public, Simons described the decision as “so very very disappointing” and “a powerful example of why we need a new positive vision around the night time”.

Later that day, a discussion took place about whether the fabric decision could be used to push for new mayoral powers over major licensing decisions. One exchange between two individuals, whose identities have been redacted, went: “Do you want to freak out borough leaders??” prompting the reply: “Currently they have the power to make poor decisions that are shutting down venues across the city.” Simons instead suggested a “mediation service” to hold talks between clubs, councils, and the police, should a similar situation arise again.

London venue owners were also in contact with Simons, recommending a “more strategic overview of licensing in the capital” as well as warning that “the world is watching [the situation] – and it does not look good.”

Details of the Mayor’s nightlife ‘vision’ are due to be published later this year. City Hall has stressed that the Mayor has no intention to seek control over licensing decisions. However, in December, Khan submitted written evidence to a House of Lords committee set up to review licensing laws. Khan said he would be seeking to work “hand-in-glove with the boroughs”, adding that “venues should only be closed where there is genuinely no alternative”.

A City Hall spokesman told Mixmag: “The mayor is pleased that an agreement was reached between Islington Council, the Metropolitan Police and fabric enabling this renowned club to reopen. He has always advocated a common-sense approach that protected both the future of fabric and the safety of all clubbers.

“The newly appointed Night Czar and Chair of the Night Time Commission will work with City Hall to explore ways in which they can support venues, councils and the Metropolitan Police so that we don’t reach this point with a much-loved club in the future.”

Mark Wilding is a freelance journalist based in London. Follow him on Twitter

[Royal Albert Hall image by Colin. The image has been modified to include a fabric logo]