Farringdon nightclub Fabric in spotlight after latest drug incident
Fabric club in Charterhouse Street - Credit: Archant
A world-famous Farringdon nightclub, which has been linked to a number of drug-related deaths, is in the spotlight again after a woman collapsed at the venue at the weekend.
Councillor Paul Convery, whose children attend the school, said he believes the school will be outstanding in two years time. - Credit: Archant
The woman, who is in her 20s, was in a critical condition in hospital on Sunday afternoon after taking what police believe was a particularly dangerous batch of Class A drug MDMA – she recovered and returned home on Monday.
The incident comes three months after Fabric’s owners were dragged before Islington Council’s licensing committee, due to four drug-related deaths in the space of three years.
Cllr Paul Convery, Islington Council’s executive member for community safety, said drugs seemed to be part of the culture of Fabric’s patrons.
“It seems attending the club is an experience which people seem to feel goes even better with ecstasy,” he said.
“It’s like, if you were to say that drinking at the football makes it more enjoyable, but we’ve stopped people getting drunk inside football grounds and it’s regarded as much better now.”
The committee imposed strict “safeguarding measures” including the presence of sniffer dogs at 50 per cent of events, but Fabric’s owners have decided to appeal the decision, meaning these will not be put in place until a final decision is made in December.
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Cllr Convery said: “I don’t know the circumstances of this incident and couldn’t say whether having these safeguards in place would have prevented it, but Fabric is a place where people take drugs.”
He claimed that the club’s appeal suggested that it was not “serious” about addressing the issue.
But a spokesman for Fabric said that the appeal was over “discreet points” among the safeguarding which they believe are unlawful and could even be “counterproductive”.
“We care deeply about the welfare of our patrons,” he said.
“Fabric has always operated a zero tolerance drugs policy and we’re proud to continue to be open and honest in assisting the police with any incident investigations.
“As a team we’ve all felt the shock and horror that a death on our premises can cause. We don’t take it lightly; in fact, we’re constantly adapting our protocols in direct reaction to them in the hope that these are changes we can make to our operational policy that will prevent incidents like this from happening in the future.
“Our hearts and thoughts really do go out to all the friends and families of those involved.”
The venue, which opened in 1999, has two on-site medics at club nights.
