Billionaire nightclub owner fined for flouting smoking ban
Billionaire nightclub owner fined for flouting smoking ban
The billionaire owner of a central London nightclub who hired Cherie Blair to challenge the smoking ban has been fined for breaching the prohibition.
Dave West, owner of the Abracadabra restaurant and HeyJo erotic-themed club, vowed to flout the ban when it was introduced on July 1 last year.
Westminster City Council brought a prosecution against him after environmental health officers twice visited his bar and reported he was permitting customers to smoke.
Mr West and his company Jewelite Trading were each convicted at City of Westminster Magistrates' Court of two counts of allowing smoking within an enclosed premises.
They were fined a total of £2,000 with costs of £5,591 for the offences on August 4 and 10 last year, the council said.
Councillor Daniel Astaire, Westminster's cabinet member for community protection and licensing, said: "Dave West has repeatedly broken the law since the smoking ban came into effect.
"Over 30,000 businesses are affected by the smoking legislation in Westminster but HeyJo is, tellingly, the only premises where we have resorted to enforcement action.
"Everyone else has adopted a responsible attitude to the legislation and the positive effects of a smoke-free environment.
"While we are always disappointed to resort to legal action, Mr West has made some ludicrous claims and has wasted valuable court and council time and money."
Mr West, who describes the smoking ban as "an encroachment upon our civil liberties", denied the charges and plans to appeal against his conviction.
http://www.24dash.com
The billionaire owner of a central London nightclub who hired Cherie Blair to challenge the smoking ban has been fined for breaching the prohibition.
Dave West, owner of the Abracadabra restaurant and HeyJo erotic-themed club, vowed to flout the ban when it was introduced on July 1 last year.
Westminster City Council brought a prosecution against him after environmental health officers twice visited his bar and reported he was permitting customers to smoke.
Mr West and his company Jewelite Trading were each convicted at City of Westminster Magistrates' Court of two counts of allowing smoking within an enclosed premises.
They were fined a total of £2,000 with costs of £5,591 for the offences on August 4 and 10 last year, the council said.
Councillor Daniel Astaire, Westminster's cabinet member for community protection and licensing, said: "Dave West has repeatedly broken the law since the smoking ban came into effect.
"Over 30,000 businesses are affected by the smoking legislation in Westminster but HeyJo is, tellingly, the only premises where we have resorted to enforcement action.
"Everyone else has adopted a responsible attitude to the legislation and the positive effects of a smoke-free environment.
"While we are always disappointed to resort to legal action, Mr West has made some ludicrous claims and has wasted valuable court and council time and money."
Mr West, who describes the smoking ban as "an encroachment upon our civil liberties", denied the charges and plans to appeal against his conviction.
http://www.24dash.com
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