South London club loses licence after woman is ‘raped’, even though venue was supposed to be closed

Detectives are investigating an alleged rape at a south London club.

The incident reportedly occurred in the early hours of January 2 at Club 701 on Old Kent Road in Bermondsey.

Last week, city councillors voted to revoke the pub’s licence after learning from police that the pub may not have been open at the time of the alleged crime.

A police spokesman said a 41-year-old man was arrested in connection with the incident at the end of January, but has since been released on bail pending further investigations.

In a statement to Southwark City Council, officers said it was an “extremely serious” incident and wrote: “The alleged offence occurred in a licensed premises which was operating at the time without the required authorisation in the form of a premises licence or temporary event notice.”

“This offence would not have been committed if the premises had been closed in accordance with the current permit.”

When asked for further details, a Metropolitan Police spokesman said: “One woman reported she was raped in the venue.”

“A 41-year-old man was arrested on suspicion of rape on 29 January and released on bail until the end of April pending further investigations.

“Investigations into the circumstances are ongoing.”

At an earlier hearing, a representative of the club had stated that they assumed the club could open because January 1 was a holiday. The staff were not aware of any serious crimes at the event.

The club said the closure would have a “devastating” impact on staff.

Officers also raised concerns related to a number of individual incidents at the venue, including a “serious assault” inside the venue in November 2019 which led to the suspension of the licence.

Councillors also heard that police had received “credible” information that a planned evening at Club 701 last month “would involve individuals with gang links and commit serious acts of violence”.

The event was cancelled voluntarily by the association.