A north Cumbrian restaurant has lost its licence after a Home Office raid found it was employing two illegal workers.
The Bird in Hand at Oulton, near Wigton, was visited by the North-West London Immigration, Compliance and Enforcement (ICE) team in April 2025 after intelligence suggested it was employing people without the right to work in the UK.
This week, Cumberland Council’s licensing sub-committee met to review its premises licence.
The Home Office report said: ““During the enforcement visit officers encountered two individuals working at the premises and the owner.
“The two individuals were both subsequently confirmed to be working in breach of their legal right to work in the UK.
“Following the enforcement visit, a civil penalty of £80,000 was issued to Adam Tandoori Limited on October 8, 2025, in relation to two individuals found to be working in breach of their immigration conditions.
“The company did not submit an objection to the penalty, and no payments have been made to date. The penalty remains outstanding.”
Alex Romano, of the Home Office’s immigration enforcement department, told members the workers were in breach of their visa conditions.
They were on skilled worker visas but they no longer worked for the named sponsor, which was a breach of the conditions.
Representatives from The Bird in Hand did not attend the hearing yesterday and, after a short period of deliberation, Councillor Jeanette Whalen (Yewdale, Labour), the committee chairwoman, said they had they had reached to a decision after carefully considering the application for review.
She added: “The sub-committee notes that the premise license holder has not engaged with the review process and has not attended the hearing.
“The sub-committee is satisfied that appropriate notice of the hearing was given, and considers it both reasonable and appropriate to proceed, to determine the application in their absence.
“The sub-committee has, therefore, taken into account the lack of engagement by the premises license holder, which is satisfied that it is able to reach a fair and informed decision based on the evidence before it.”
She said they had focused on the promotion of the licensing objectives, in particular the prevention of crime and disorder, and added: “The sub-committee accepts the evidence of immigration enforcement that two individuals were working at the premises in breach of their immigration conditions.
“The sub-committee finds that appropriate right to work checks were not carried out, and that individuals were permitted to undertake work at the premises, including serving customers and working behind the bar.
“The sub-committee further finds that the evidence including the diary material indicates that this was not an isolated incident, but part of a pattern of working arrangements at the premises.
“The sub-committee has also taken into account the failure to pay the civil penalty and the lack of evidence of meaningful remedial action.”
Cllr Whalen said that the prevention of crime and disorder objective had been seriously undermined and, according to the guidance, the employment of individuals in breach of immigration status was ‘a serious criminal activity’ and indicated that revocation should be seriously considered even at the first review.
She added: “The sub-committee has considered whether any lesser steps such as conditions or suspension would be sufficient but has concluded that they would not be appropriate or proportionate given the seriousness, persistence, and management failures identified.
“Accordingly, the sub-committee considers that revocation of the premises license is necessary and proportionate for the promotion of the licensing objectives.”
According to The Licensing Act 2003 if representatives from The Bird in Hand intend to appeal against the decision they must lodge it at a magistrates’ court within 21 days of the decision notice.
