O2 Brixton Academy: Crush victim’s family call for answers

A man whose sister died following the crush at the O2 Brixton Academy in December says her family want answers about what happened.

Wale Ikumelo’s sister Rebecca had been at a gig by Afrobeats artist Asake.

The BBC has seen paperwork from Academy Music Group (AMG), the venue organisers, suggesting there may not have been enough security guards.

The document says such concerts need “up to 200+” guards. But AMG has said there were only 157 security staff.

Wale Ikumelo’s sister Rebecca – who had two children – was one of two people to lose their lives after being caught up in the crush outside the concert.

“I just want all the justice that can be given on her behalf because she deserves it,” Mr Ikumelo told the BBC.

The document seen by the BBC, dating from 2021, appears to be AMG’s risk assessment for music events at the Academy. It details five risk levels associated with entry to the building.

Afrobeats and Dancehall gigs are classed as level five, the highest risk.

The document also mentions the need for “40-80 high-caliber [sic] security” at level five events – although it doesn’t make clear if this would be in addition to the “up to 200+” guards.

Fraudulent tickets – plus “late arriving” and “noncompliant” audiences – are listed as potential issues at level five events which, it says, should be “hard tickets only”.

BBC Radio 4 programme File on 4, which has been investigating the night of the crush, also spoke to a whistleblower – a security guard – who said there had not been enough security for the Asake show.

Rohan, not his real name, was working on 15 December. He said there were only 110 staff on duty, when there should have been 190.

AMG has told the BBC that 157 contracted security staff worked that night – but did not respond when asked about the risk document.

The whistleblower Rohan also said that some security guards at the Brixton Academy – employed by the company he works for, AP Security – regularly took bribes to let in people without tickets, including on the night of the Asake show.

He said members of his team would each allow “a couple of hundred” extra people into venues in exchange for money.

“Some staff made £1,000 cash.”

If you have any personal experience of the issues raised by this investigation, please email the File on 4 team at [email protected]

Anyone wanting to get into a gig without a ticket, says Rohan, would speak to security staff by the barriers controlling the queue to get in.

“They [some AP Security staff] will tell you a few things, [then you] go round the corner… give them a lot of cash and they will walk you straight in the front door.”

He described what happened on the night of the crush:

“When you let a few people in, they would text their friends, and they’ll text their friends.

“And the bouncers started being greedy, and it got out of hand. And people wanted to come in anyway, without a ticket.

“You can train someone to the max, but when that happens in front of you, you actually stop… you freeze.”

Rohan says at Brixton, his employer AP Security knew what was happening – because he had been in meetings where people had complained about two particular individuals.

The subject of bribes had also been brought up in briefings and in conversations between managers and bouncers – but no-one, he says, had been reprimanded.

“Our company knew what was going on and they knew the people who were doing it… and they did nothing about it.”

AP Security has been contacted but declined to comment on the claims.

Rohan said he had also seen bribes being taken at a number of other venues, stadiums and festivals. The amount of money handed over depended on who was playing.

The brother of Rebecca Ikumelo has said his family are still in shock over her death at the age of 33.

“This kind of thing shouldn’t be happening when you’re going to enjoy yourselves,” said Wale Ikumelo in an interview with the BBC’s Greg McKenzie.

“People should make sure things like this don’t happen again – and make sure everything’s on point and correct.”

Mr Ikumelo said focusing on his sister’s two children and getting her justice would help the healing process.

“I can tell they [the children] are missing their mum. Everyone is supporting them, they’ve got a lot of support. The family is really strong right now.

“It’s just about making sure that things like this are prevented in the future because things like this shouldn’t be happening.”

Ms Ikumelo – and security guard Gaby Hutchinson, who was 23 – both died after the crush in hospital.

Security guard Rohan said he witnessed what happened to both of them at the Academy – describing it as “like being in a car crash that’s been really awful – being crashed on and stamped on”.

Gaby Hutchinson worked for second security company, County Security, as a specialist dog handler. There is no suggestion the firm was involved in taking bribes or letting people in without tickets.

The BBC has also spoken to someone who got into a gig with a fake ticket at the Brixton Academy earlier in December.

His account appears to confirm Rohan’s description of there being a coordinated process of paying bribes and gaining access to shows.

Andre said he, his wife and two friends, travelled to Brixton to try to buy legitimate tickets outside the venue to watch the DJ Fred Again – and that he regrets what subsequently happened.

He said he asked a doorman where he would be able to buy a ticket and was told to go across the street to a cash machine, where someone selling tickets would meet him.

After some haggling, and despite not trusting the tout, Andre handed over cash and was sent tickets on WhatsApp.

Andre said his group were then told to go to a specific security guard outside the venue.

“As soon as we got there, our tickets got scanned really, really, fast – I would say fake-scanned – and the person just let us in.

“The person had the device that scans tickets and just used the flashlight on it, not the laser scan.

“It felt really organised and it felt that we weren’t the only people that got in that way.”

Andre said it was clear others were doing the same as them – and that the venue was absolutely packed.

“There was absolutely no space whatsoever to move around.”

Andre told the BBC he would have never have paid any money had he known the tickets were duplicates.

Listen to File on 4: Catastrophe at the Academy on BBC Sounds

On Monday, Lambeth Council agreed to suspend the O2 Brixton Academy’s licence for three more months until 16 April. Academy Music Group had already agreed it would stay closed.

In a recent statement the company said: “O2 Academy Brixton recognises the gravity of the events which occurred on the night of 15 December 2022 and expresses its sincere condolences to the families of those who died during the tragic incident and its genuine concerns for anyone affected by it.”

AMG also said it was committed to understanding what happened and was “providing full cooperation to the police”.

The day after the crush in December, AP Security’s director of operational management, James Hooker, said: “We are working with our lawyers, the operators of the premises and the authorities to provide all information that is needed.

“We will continue to work with all parties and are unable to provide any information at this time while those inquiries are completed.”

Additional reporting by Melanie Stewart-Smith