Teen rape hotel in Batley faces licence review

Tomorrow councillors will review the licence held by Alder House Hotel, Batley, following calls by police to revoke the hotel’s right to serve alcohol.

In March Shazad Rehman and Bilal Hussain were jailed at Bradford Crown Court for a total of 36 years for the drugging and raping of vulnerable schoolgirls they picked up off the streets in Keighley. Girls were plied with vodka and cannabis and smuggled into hotels, including Alder House Hotel and the Campanile Hotel in Bradford.

The abuse took place across May and June 2011 and a trial revealed the men took three 14-year-old girls to the Towngate Road hotel on more than one occasion.

West Yorkshire Police claim ‘bad practices’ which the hotel adopted allowed the child abuse to happen within rooms at the hotel.

Police reports said hotel owner Nazir Hussain allowed Asian men to book rooms for an afternoon, and their booking was erased from the hotel’s paper ledger after their departure, which he strenuously denies.No charges were ever brought against Mr Hussain.

If the licence is revoked, the hotel will no longer be able to serve alcohol, but will remain open as bed and breakfast accomodation.

Mr Hussain’s son Nadeem became manager of the hotel last September and said he and his father were shocked to learn of the abuse that had taken place there two years ago.

He said his father did not take part in the day-to-day running of the business and said the hotel had all new staff.

In a report to Kirklees Council’s licensing panel, police licensing officer Richard Woodhead said: “The practices adopted by the owner and the management have led to serious breaches of the licensing objectives, including protection of children, crime and disorder and public safety.”

He added: “Due to the seriousness of the attacks on vulnerable children, West Yorkshire Police feel there is no alternative but for revocation of the licence at the Alder House Hotel.” Nadeem Hussain told the News: “It was only when the men were in court that we realised, it was a big shock.

“The staff have all changed since then, I wasn’t even here when it happened.”

He denied that his father was entering and then erasing afternoon bookings.

Nadeem said he overhauled the hotel’s security and booking systems in September after his father retired.

A new CCTV system has been installed, which he can access from his smartphone, and the fire doors have been fitted with alarms.

He said the hotel had been using an electronic system and guests were not allowed to book a room without ID.

Staff have been trained to be more vigilant and customers who try to book a room after midnight are turned away.

Nadeem, 33, said he was keen to distance the hotel from the events of 2011 and feared his business would suffer if the alcohol licence was revoked.

“Would you book a wedding at a venue if there’s no bar?” he said.

“Nothing has happened for two years. It would be unfair and unjust to take the premises licence away.”

Check the website tomorrow for the outcome of the review.