Posh London restaurant fined £31,000 after dead mouse found in kitchen
New photographs showing the appalling unsanitary scenes at Beach Blanket Babylon have emerged after the former owner was convicted at court of a string of food hygiene offences.
Another image shows cockroaches in a kitchen area at the once upmarket townhouse and ballroom in Notting Hill, west London, which was also found to be infested with mice and rats.
Other hygiene breaches discovered by inspectors from Kensington and Chelsea Council included packets of till white seeds, cocoa powder and flaked almonds that had been gnawed by mice.
The now closed restaurant became a den of hygiene horrors despite the likes of Prince William and Kate, Prince Harry, Rita Ora, Selena Gomez and Naomi Campbell having been among the customers.
Conor George Thomson-Moore, 30, was ordered to pay a total of £31,000 for serious breaches of food and hygiene legislation.
The amount imposed at Westminster Magistrates' Court included a £7,000 fine, £2,000 victim surcharge and the council's legal costs of £22,000.
Thomson-Moore, who is no longer the owner, was also banned from operating a food business for 10 years under the Food Hygiene England Regulations at the hearing on June 16.
He had previously pleaded guilty to contamination of food with mouse droppings, poor cleaning, inadequate pest control procedures and failure to comply with a Hygiene Improvement Notice.
The prosecution was brought after inspectors found the breaches during a visit in September 2022, including droppings around the premises and food contaminated with mouse faeces.
A further visit in February 2023 found there was no hot water and further issues with pest control.
Hygiene Improvement Notices were served but the food business operators failed to comply with one of the notices for lack of hot water to a wash hand basin.
The restaurant had marketed itself as a townhouse with a ballroom 'serving beautiful British food and inspired cocktails from lunch till late.'
But one nearby cafe worker previously told Metro: 'I never went there because I heard horrible things.
'Apparently it was really dirty in there, like the back of house had rats and bugs, if it reopened I wouldn't go in.'
Cllr Johnny Thalassites, lead member for environment and planning said: 'Kensington and Chelsea is home to a vibrant and growing food scene, visited and enjoyed by many.
'We support our local businesses, but we also take food safety seriously. More Trending
'Our officers work with businesses to ensure high standards are maintained that our residents and visitors expect and deserve.
'This prosecution shows our commitment to being a safe and fair borough and we won't hesitate to act against those businesses who don't play by the rules.'
Metro has attempted to contact Mr Thomson-Moore for comment.
Do you have a story you would like to share? Contact josh.layton@metro.co.uk
MORE: 'Gnawed bag of popcorn' discovery at Tesco store triggered hygiene investigation
MORE: Mouse droppings discovered 'throughout' kitchen at McDonald's franchise
MORE: Restaurant popular with Royals and celebs shuts down after rat poo found in food
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Rhyl Journal
28 minutes ago
- Rhyl Journal
Nadine Shah among musicians planning to support next Kneecap court hearing
Referencing the stage where Kneecap played to a huge crowd at Glastonbury, an Instagram post by the account LoveMusicHateRacism announced they will be 'bringing West Holts to Westminster,' when Liam Og O hAnnaidh appears at the London court on August 20. The post on Thursday said British singer-songwriter Shah would attend the hearing in a show of support along with a list of other 'speakers and artists' including Irish band Gurriers, Irish rapper Maverick Sabre, and British rapper Jelani Blackman. A post shared by Love Music Hate Racism (@lovemusichateracism) The musicians have repeatedly spoken out against the war in Gaza, with Kneecap walking on stage at a gig in London on Saturday night in front of a screen that read: 'Israel is committing genocide against the Palestinian people'. O hAnnaidh, who performs under the stage name Mo Chara, and his bandmates Naoise O Caireallain and J J O Dochartaigh were cheered by hundreds of supporters when they arrived at Westminster Magistrates' Court for his last court appearance in June. After the brief hearing concluded, he exited the court building to a festival-like atmosphere, with fans waving flags, playing drums and one supporter setting off a smoke canister. Thursday's Instagram post read: 'Defend @kneecap32. Free Mo Chara. Drop the charges. Big up all the artists who will be there to support. Bringing West Holts to Westminster on Wed 20 August 9am.' O hAnnaidh was charged in May after allegedly displaying a flag in support of proscribed terrorist organisation Hezbollah at a gig in November last year. Kneecap performed at Glasgow's 02 on Tuesday night, in a gig which sold out in 80 seconds. The group was set to play the TRNSMT festival in the city this weekend, but their spot was axed following concerns raised by police. Their set at Glastonbury followed Bob Vylan on the West Holts Stage, with both acts being investigated by Avon and Somerset Police for comments made on stage. Gurriers also played at Glastonbury last month, with frontman Dan Hoff telling the crowd during their Woodsies set: 'Free Palestine, unlike other bands, we know where we stand politically.'
Powys County Times
42 minutes ago
- Powys County Times
Wrongly jailed Malkinson hails benefits rule change, but will continue fighting
A man who served 17 years in prison after being wrongly convicted of rape has spoken of his 'intense relief' at changes to benefits rules under an official compensation scheme. Andrew Malkinson, who was the victim of one of the worst miscarriages of justice in British legal history, will still have the right to apply for means-tested benefits despite receiving his first six-figure payout from the Government miscarriage of justice compensation scheme. A change laid in a statutory instrument in Parliament on July 1, and coming into force on July 22, means that those who receive such compensation payments can continue to claim benefits. Mr Malkinson said: 'When I was stuck behind my cell door I would never have believed that my case would lead to so many reforms – but I am determined to tear down the system that failed me for so long and is failing so many others. 'I am intensely relieved that thanks to this change to the law, I will still have access to benefits even though the state is starting to compensate me for my wrongful conviction. 'My compensation fund is supposed to pay for the support I need to help me heal, not just day to day life, and that sort of support is expensive, especially as I will need it for so many years to come. 'And this reform will be in place for those who come after me as well.' Mr Malkinson was left living on benefits and using food banks after his release, having to wait two years to get his first interim compensation payment. The 59-year-old has already successfully campaigned to stop prison lodging costs being deducted from payouts, and has spoken out against a £1 million cap on the compensation payments, and rules under which payments are only awarded to people who can prove innocence beyond a reasonable doubt. Ministry of Justice data showed that 6.5% of people who had applied for compensation due to a miscarriage of justice between April 2016 and March 2024 were awarded payouts. Of 591 people who applied, 39 were granted compensation. Mr Malkinson said: 'I remain determined to challenge the completely unfair cap on compensation for the wrongfully convicted – and the ridiculous requirement that a person in my position be required to prove their innocence a second time to get compensated.' His solicitor Toby Wilton urged the government to lift the £1 million cap that was set in 2008. The issue again came to the fore in a separate case in May, that saw Peter Sullivan freed from jail after serving 38 years for a murder he did not commit. Mr Wilton said while the benefits change 'ends a stark injustice', further reforms are needed. 'Miscarriage of justice victims like Andy Malkinson will no longer lose their benefits or social housing on account of having received compensation under the statutory miscarriage of justice compensation scheme. 'They are free to use their compensation payments to try to rebuild their lives. 'But while Andy and other future applicants will no doubt breathe a sigh of relief, the truth is that this change tinkers around the edges of a miscarriage of justice compensation scheme which is not fit for purpose. 'Currently, compensation can only be paid to the very few applicants who can prove their innocence beyond a reasonable doubt – effectively forcing them to prove a negative. 'On top of this, the scheme arbitrarily disadvantages people like Andy who have suffered the most serious miscarriages of justice by capping compensation at £1 million. 'This cap was set in 2008 and would be worth nearly £2 million today, but while the Government has the power to change this cap or remove it, it has so far refused to do this. 'It must act now.'
Daily Mirror
an hour ago
- Daily Mirror
Iran is 'rising threat to Brits inside UK' and 'nuclear threat has increased'
Iran poses a "rising" threat to Britain and its citizens, both inside and outside the UK, a new parliamentary report based on classified intelligence has warned. The message was contained in a concerning report by Parliament's Intelligence and Security Committee after they were given access to classified documents and Iranian experts at British intelligence services. In the report, the committee's chairman Lord Beamish said: "Iran poses a wide-ranging, persistent and unpredictable threat to the UK, UK nationals and UK interests. Iran has a high appetite for risk when conducting offensive activity and its intelligence services are ferociously well-resourced with significant areas of asymmetric strength. "It supplements this with its use of proxy groups - including criminal networks, militant and terrorist organisations, and private cyber actors to provide it with a deniable means of attacking its adversaries with minimal risk of retaliation." The report also included concerns at what it described as "the sharp increase in the physical threat posed to dissidents and other opponents of the regime who are in the UK given Iran's willingness to use assassination". And it highlighted the importance of dealing with both Iran's nuclear threat and the threat of it carrying out a cyber security attack on the UK. In the report, Lord Beamish said: "There has been a significant increase in the physical threat posed by Iran to those residing in the UK. It has significantly increased both in pace and with regard to the number of threats. This threat is focused acutely on dissidents and other opponents of the regime. There is also an increased threat against Jewish and Israeli interests in the UK. "The Iranian Intelligence Services have shown that they are willing and able - often through third-party agents - to attempt assassination within the UK and kidnap from the UK." The report adds: "The Homeland Security Group told us that the threat of physical attack on individuals in the UK is now 'the greatest level of threat we currently face from Iran' and comparable with the threat posed by Russia." The report said that between the beginning of 2022 and August 2023, there were "at least 15 attempts at murder or kidnap against British nationals or UK-based individuals". It adds: "Iran does not view attacks on dissident, Jewish and Israeli targets in the UK as attacks on the UK. It rather sees the UK as collateral in its handling of internal matters - i.e. removing perceived enemies of the regime - on UK soil." The 241-page report was secretly presented to the government in April last year, but following delays, said to have been caused by last year's General Election, it has only been made public today after being laid down in Parliament. It has already led to the designation of Iran under the Enhanced Tier of the Foreign Influence Registration Scheme and it creating a new power of proscription to cover state-backed organisations such as the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps. Sources admit the landscape in the Middle East has altered "considerably" since the report's completion in August 2023, less than two months before Hamas' October 7 terror attack on Israel. But they say the report still provides "essential context and consideration of all elements of the Iranian threat to the UK. And they added "it assesses what the UK Intelligence Community is doing to respond, and what more needs to be done". The report says Iran has "developed a network of complex relationships with militant and terrorist groups", including Al-Qaeda, Kata'ib Hizbollah in Iraq, Lebanese Hizbollah and Hamas. It adds: "The transactional arrangement between Iran and the senior leadership of Al Qaeda is concerning. "The Government should use all the tools at its disposal to degrade the relationship between Iran and groups such as Al-Qaeda and Lebanese Hizbollah, including publicly calling out Iran's attempts to protect such terrorist groups". The authors of the report say Iran also wants to build "a deep alliance" with Russia, with the relationship between the two countries becoming "increasingly close". The report says Iran's leadership have a "deep suspicion" of the UK and consider it to be "a significant adversary, a cunning fox, opposed to the Iranian regime's values and as part of the West to be seeking regime change in Iran". It adds: "Iran's main strategic objectives towards the UK include reducing the UK's military presence in the region, undermining the UK's relationships with the US and Israel, weakening the UK's security relationships in the Middle East and silencing criticism of Iran [both] from the UK directly or from those residing in the UK. The national security threat from Iran requires a longer-term view and resourcing must be consistent with that threat." , , , , or visit homepage.
