Rainbow Live venues have indefinitely lost their licence after a licencing meeting at Birmingham City Council.
The Rainbow Venues on Lower Trinity Street, source: Google Street View
The committee found that the 2 teenage deaths within 22 months due to drug use as well as a failing by management to address these issues within the venues led the decision.
West Midlands Police also raised concerns after social media footage of a 15 year old at the licensed venues had appeared on Snapchat and Instagram. PC Abdool Rohomon described the underage individual as “high as a kite” in the videos.
Witnesses who had come forward to the police after the second death reported being offered drugs in the venue, as well as the “door staff shaking hands” with the individual who had offered drugs. West Midlands Police also gave evidence that Michael Trueman (who died after taking MDMA in November at Rainbow Live) consumed the drugs at the event hosted by Rainbow Live, meaning that the substances entered the venue despite stringent security and drug policy in place.
Rainbow denied the 15-year-old boy had been at the venue and that all “conditions [of the licence] were being delivered”. The company also offered new policies, including CCTV in toilets and random searching, to ensure their licence was not revoked. However, the committee did not find these strong enough to ensure public safety would no longer be at risk.
Find the full Twitter thread of the meeting as well as further updates here or follow #RainbowLicence on Twitter.
Have you been affected by this or used to visit Rainbow Live venues? Let us know below.
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