Mistress of Mayfair licence suspended: decision by 10 Sept

A St James’s Street venue has been shut by its own licensing authority, and Westminster City Council has until Thursday 10 September to decide whether it ever reopens.

The council’s Licensing Sub-Committee (1) suspended the premises licence for Mistress of Mayfair, 48-49 St James’s Street, with immediate effect on Monday 17 August. The meeting lasted 52 minutes. The licence holder, St James Projects Ltd, was represented and agreed to the suspension. (Printed minutes, 17 August 2026)

The expedited route is the fastest procedure in licensing law, so it is worth being precise about what has and has not happened. The suspension is an interim step. Nothing has been decided about the licence itself.

What triggered it

The Metropolitan Police applied on Thursday 13 August at 16:29 for an expedited review under section 53A of the Licensing Act 2003. That route is only open to a police force when a senior officer certifies that premises are associated with serious crime or serious disorder.

The trigger was an incident at the venue in the early hours of Monday 10 August. A man suffered a slash wound to the throat inside the premises. A man has since been charged with attempted murder.

Those criminal proceedings are active. Nothing has been proved against anyone, and we are not naming the person charged. The rest of this piece is about the licence, which is a separate matter decided by the council in public.

What the council found

The police application, published in full as a report to the sub-committee, sets out the licence conditions the force says were broken. (Interim steps report)

• the ID scanning condition. After midnight, every customer must have identification scanned on entry, with a live facial image captured. Police reviewed CCTV and said a group of seven entered at 00:19 without being scanned. The person later charged was not on the system.
• the door staff condition. All door staff must wear distinctive clothing so they can be readily identified. Officers reported a mix of uniform that made security hard to tell apart from waiters and glass collectors.
• the incident log condition. Every ejection, crime and disorder incident must be recorded within 24 hours. Officers were told of an earlier altercation and ejection that evening. The handover report they were shown described the night as normal.
• the serious assault condition. Management must take all reasonably practicable measures to detain a suspect until police arrive, and preserve the scene. Officers said no one was detained or searched, and witnesses left before police arrived.

Asked why the group had not been scanned, the general manager first cited the licence’s allowance of up to 15 guests a night at a manager’s discretion, then said the group were known to the venue. The report records that neither explanation held, and that no clear reason for the breach was established.

The sub-committee’s written decision concluded that the premises are associated with serious crime and serious disorder, citing “the failure of management to respond appropriately and the persistent breaches of Premises Licence conditions”.

A council spokesperson said the suspension was “a necessary and proportionate step to protect the public”, and confirmed the licence holder “did not contest the suspension”. (Westminster City Council statement, 18 August 2026)

This is not the first time

The same conditions had already been in issue this year, according to the police report.

• After an assault investigation in January 2026, the venue was issued with a section 19 closure notice for breaching the ID scanning condition and for failing to keep CCTV for 31 days.
• Council inspectors visited on 31 January 2026 and again found the ID scanning and incident log conditions were not being complied with.

The report puts it bluntly: “It is unclear why the venue is unwilling to follow the conditions on their premises licence.”

The clock, and it is a short one

The expedited route runs to a statutory timetable, which is why everything has happened so quickly.

• Within 48 hours of the application, the council had to decide whether to take interim steps. The deadline was 17 August at 16:29. The hearing started at 9am that morning.
• Within 28 days of the day the application was received, the council must hold the full review and reach a decision. The application landed on 13 August, so the deadline is Thursday 10 September 2026.
• The council must also advertise the review for at least seven days from the day after the application arrived, and take representations for a set window after that notice is published. (Summary Review Regulations 2007)

At the full review the sub-committee has five options under section 53C: change the conditions, remove a licensable activity such as alcohol, remove the designated premises supervisor, suspend the licence for up to three months, or revoke it outright.

No agenda naming the premises had been published by 25 August. The council’s calendar currently lists Licensing Sub-Committee meetings on 27 August, 2 September and 3 September.

One thing the council got wrong

The decision notice itself contains an error. It gives the venue’s address three times as “48-49 St James’s Street, London SW1E 6QP”. SW1E 6QP is the postcode of 64 Victoria Street, the council’s own offices, where the hearing was held. The venue’s postcode, given correctly in the heading and in the police report, is SW1A 1JT.

What it means for you

The venue is closed for licensable activity while the suspension stands. Its licence normally permits alcohol until 03:00 Tuesday to Saturday and opening until 03:30, so this is a substantial late-night operation on a street that sits outside any Cumulative Impact Zone.

If you live or work nearby and want a say, the full review is the point at which anyone can make representations, not just police and council departments. That right belongs to any person, not only to those living close by. Two practical steps:

• Check the notice and the closing date for comments on the council’s online licensing register, which carries current applications and their consultation stage.
• Representations go to the licensing team at licensing@westminster.gov.uk. They must relate to one or more of the four licensing objectives: preventing crime and disorder, public safety, preventing public nuisance, and protecting children from harm.

The hearing itself will be held in public. We will report the outcome.

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