The Licensing (2003 Act) Sub-Committee of Newham Council was scheduled to consider a review of the premises licence for Roman Express, a convenience store located at 347 Barking Road, East Ham. The meeting's agenda also included standard procedural items.

Review of Premises Licence for Roman Express

The primary item scheduled for discussion was an application for the review of the premises licence for Roman Express, located at 347 Barking Road, East Ham, E6 1LA. The review application was submitted by the Metropolitan Police, citing concerns across all four licensing objectives: the prevention of crime and disorder, public safety, the prevention of public nuisance, and the protection of children from harm.

The report pack detailed an incident on Saturday, 18 October 2025, involving a fight at the premises, which led to a wounding investigation. CCTV footage from the incident reportedly showed a short baseball bat being used as a weapon, which was later found to have originated from inside the shop. The licensee and Designated Premises Supervisor (DPS), Ali Sukran Karakoyun, was present during the police investigation of the CCTV footage. The report indicated that the licensee initially claimed no footage was available and that the baseball bat had been brought by the attackers, before later producing footage from his mobile phone and revealing the bat's location within the premises. The police report stated that the licensee/DPS was seen kicking a person on the floor in the CCTV footage.

The Metropolitan Police's opinion, as outlined in the report, was that the venue had seriously undermined the licensing objectives. Consequently, the police respectfully requested that the premises licence be revoked. The report also included details of the premises' history, noting it was first licensed in 2010 and the current licence was issued on 13 July 2021.

The sub-committee was scheduled to hear the review application, representations from the licence holder, and any valid representations received from responsible authorities and interested parties to determine the application.

The meeting was scheduled to be chaired by Councillor Tonii Wilson, Chair of the Licensing Committee. Other members of the sub-committee included Councillor Simon Rush, Councillor Alan Griffiths, Councillor Jane Barbara Lofthouse, Councillor Jennifer Bailey, Councillor Pushpa Dipaklal Makwana, Councillor Harvinder Singh Virdee, Councillor Shaban Mohammed, Councillor Winston Vaughan, and Councillor Aktharul Alam. Officers in attendance were expected to include Steve Jackson and Colin Hunt from Enforcement and Safety, and Mandeep Mehat, Sajid Mehmood, and Umair Malik from Legal and Governance. Mehrunnisa Hussain was listed as the contact for the meeting.