Council adjourns review of licence at award winning Milton Keynes restaurant

The Don, near Milton Keynes train station, was due to have its premises licence reviewed on Wednesday after immigration officials and Thames Valley Police claimed three people had been working there illegally last December.

But restaurant owner Aki Rahman said the closure on Sunday had “nothing to do with immigration”. He said there had been a dispute with his landlord.

Mr Rahman said three people who claimed by officials to be illegally working were homeless, without means of support, and he had been feeding them.

“We do a lot for the homeless in Milton Keynes,” he said. The restaurant has also supported charities and sponsored local sports teams.

“We have never been in trouble in five years,” said Mr Rahman. “They weren’t working and were wearing visitor badges.”

Mr Rahman, who is isolating because of covid-19, said the restaurant had closed after giving away takeaway food to customers.

But he vowed to be back to open an alcohol-free restaurant in the city.

“We were thinking for some time for spiritual reasons to hand the licence in anyway,” said Mr Rahman, a Muslim.

“In Islam, we are not allowed to drink alcohol.”

Milton Keynes Council’s licensing sub-committee held a four-minute meeting on Wednesday to discuss a request to revoke the licence. Broadcast on YouTube, the meeting decided to adjourn.

Licensing officer Ed Fisher said Mr Rahman had “surrendered” the licence on Monday.

As a consequence he said that the committee of three councillors had “nothing to decide.”

He suggested adjourning the meeting until Wednesday July 1, just in case someone applies to reinstate the licence. This was agreed by the councillors.

Background council papers said that the review was called for following an immigration enforcement raid in December 2019.

Three people were detained as having no right to be in the UK.

Mr Rahman had told council officers that the Home Office had decided to take “no action” against him.

The Home Office did not withdraw its application to revoke the licence because a ‘notice of no action’ does not mean there were no issues of concern.

But Mr Rahman insisted he had not been employing the people but was instead feeding them.

The restaurant had been featured in the national press in 2015 after Mr Rahman applied to deliver curries by drone.

The Don, which held a rating of two from its latest council hygiene inspection in 2018, had been voted best Indian restaurant in Buckinghamshire.