Home Office drops licence case against restaurant

A restaurant owner in York has said he is "very relieved and happy" after a bid by the Home Office to have his licence revoked was dropped.

Akwan Irani, the owner of Turkish restaurant Yakamoz, said he was not responsible for the actions of its previous owner who was fined £45,000 for employing an illegal worker.

Richard Garbutt, from the Home Office's Immigration, Compliance and Enforcement (ICE) department, said it recognised Irani had not been involved with the business when a raid took place at the premises last year.

A City of York Council licensing hearing on Friday approved the department's bid to add conditions to the restaurant's licence after dropping its application to revoke it.

Irani said 12 of his staff would have lost their jobs if the Home Office's bid to strip the Goodramgate premises of its licence had gone ahead.

Friday's hearing followed a raid by ICE officers at Yakamoz in September last year which found a man was working there illegally.

Checks found he had entered the UK in 2023 and had never had any legal right to work in the country.

The restaurant's previous operator, Yakamoz York Ltd, went into liquidation in July owing £60,911, according to Companies House, including the £45,000 fine issued by the Home Office which remains unpaid.

Irani said the prospect of losing the licence had made his staff uncomfortable and caused customers to question whether the restaurant was staying open.

He told the Local Democracy Reporting Service: "When we received the letter about the hearing, it was really embarrassing. I consider myself professional.

"I felt very relieved and happy with the decision which recognised it had nothing to do with me.

"The place has changed completely since we took over. We check all our workers and keep all the records we need to.

"We're law-abiding people, so we take this very seriously."

Garbutt said the use of illegal workers was a key driver of illegal migration, undercut legitimate businesses and was often linked to other labour abuses.

But he added that ICE did not want to attribute historical failings at a business to someone with no responsibility for them.

The hearing on Friday approved changes which meant the business would now be required to carry out right-to-work checks on all potential employees.

It must also keep documents obtained through the checks for inspection and be able to promptly produce them, if requested.

Usama Patel, Irani's lawyer, told councillors Yakamoz's current owner formally assumed control of the business in June and ran it in full compliance with employment law.

He added that the owner was happy to accept the Home Office conditions to provide a positive environment for staff and service for the community.

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