West London off-licence to stay open despite illegal worker and rule breaches.

The worker allegedly sought to flee from immigration agents. Despite numerous licensing violations, such as recruiting illegal personnel and selling illegal items, a West London off-licence has been permitted to remain operating.

Lady Margaret Superstore, located at 480 Lady Margaret Road in Southall, has been issued a set of new restrictions to meet in order to remain open.

The review was sparked by two different accidents that occurred between May and December 2025.

On May 31, 2025, a council licensing team and immigration officers conducted a joint search and discovered a number of violations, including an ex-student with no authorisation to work unloading a delivery truck for the store.

The individual attempted to leave, but was apprehended by an officer and placed in handcuffs.
Once apprehended, the man was stated to be uncomfortable, seeking to explain the situation by saying, “I don’t work here, I’m just helping.”

However, checks eventually revealed that he was a student visa holder whose permission to remain in the UK had been revoked due to non-attendance at his course.

He eventually revealed that he had been working at Lady Margaret Superstore for two months, earning £60 per week for two days’ work.

During the same operation, officers discovered 50 non-compliant vapes and high-strength beers for sale, violating a requirement from a previous licensing assessment in 2010 designed to reduce street drinking.

However, this raid was not enough to deter the store from breaking the licensing terms.

When an officer arrived on December 5, 2025 to serve legal papers for this licensing review, he discovered a staff member attempting to hide a carton of unlawful vapes upon admission.

The licensing office discovered five more unlawful vapes stashed in a box, as well as other high-strength beers that were not price-marked, indicating that warnings issued just six months ago had been ignored.

The shop has a history of noncompliance, with over 500 illicit cigarettes discovered hidden in a coat in 2019.

Despite numerous infractions and rejected warnings, the licensing panel chose not to suspend or withdraw the licence.

Cllr Kim Kaur Nagpal read out the committee’s decision, saying that the committee was happy with the licence holder because he had paid the entire civil penalty for the immigration breach and had proactively worked with Ealing Council to resolve the difficulties.

The store agreed to a new set of tighter requirements, which the committee hopes will prevent future infractions.

Previously, the establishment was only allowed to sell alcohol with an ABV of 5.5%, which it had repeatedly breached.

Despite numerous infractions, the committee opted to raise the standard to 6% ABV and require all products to be price marked. The shop is also prohibited from purchasing inventory from “door-to-door sellers.”

Receipts for every stock, including the seller’s name, firm, VAT, and product specifications, must be retained for at least 12 months.

A stringent “Challenge 25” policy has been implemented, replacing the previous “Challenge 21” regulation.

Finally, alcohol can no longer be stored on the floor, but rather on purpose-built shelf. Before recruiting new employees, the supervisor must validate all staff IDs on the Home Office website.

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