A west London convenience store has had its licence revoked after a child bought alcohol and the person in charge failed to demonstrate he understood his responsibilities.

When questioned, the staff member on duty at the Ealing shop said he sold it to the child "because the shop next door sells to kids". When councillors questioned the Designated Premises Supervisor (DPS) about it he didn't seem to understand much about licensing.

Trading Standards visited Little Ealing Convenience Store with a 15-year-old volunteer to conduct an inspection. The child was sold a bottle of Corona without being asked their age or for ID.

Astonishingly, when licensing officers notified the staff member, Ruchir Patel, that he had sold alcohol to a child, he justified it by pointing the finger at the shop next door. It was unclear if Ruchir Patel had received any relevant licensing training.

After his claims, officers visited the shop next door, Quickfix Mobile & Vape. While there was no evidence that the shop sells alcohol to children, thanks to Mr Patel's admission inspectors found "several thousand" cigarettes and vapes, despite the shop having no licence to sell them.

The DPS, Mr Rajendra Patel, the father of Ruchir, apologised for the incident. He told councillors: "We made a mistake, so that is the thing. I accept it because we made a mistake, sorry about that."

It then came to light that the shop had reportedly been sold to the owner of a nearby store. However, Rajendra Patel admitted that no transfer of licence had taken place, and no evidence had been provided to prove the sale had taken place.

When councillors asked Mr Patel if he had any understanding of the licensing conditions, such as protection of children from harm, and prevention of crime and disorder, he had little knowledge. Additionally, when Cllr Baaklini, who chaired the meeting, asked if he had read the proposed new conditions of the licence, he said no, despite earlier saying he had.

advertisement

He said: "No. Whatever you say is right, it's not my subject where I can know and understand everything."

Cllr Baaklini told him in response: "No, but you must understand everything, because this is quite important."

Originally, the council licensing team sought a suspension of the licence for three months whilst staff undertake licensing training, CCTV is installed, and a new DPS is found. However, after Mr Patel failed to show an understanding of licensing conditions the licence was revoked entirely.

Revealing the committee's decision, Cllr Baaklini said: "The sub-committee were provided with no explanation from Mr Patel on how his staff sold alcohol to an underage person.

"He showed no knowledge of licensing objectives when asked, he hadn't read the review report, and wasn't aware of the conditions proposed."