Fabric London will remain closed.

Last night (September 6), representatives of the club met with Islington Council, as well as Islington Public Health Authority, Islington License Authority and the Metropolitan Police. After a six hour review, Licensing sub-committee Chair Flora Williamson issued a ruling against Fabric, based around the idea that a “culture of drugs exists at the club which the existing management and security appear incapable of controlling.”

The council also stated that “staff intervention and security was grossly inadequate in light of the overwhelming evidence that it was abundantly obvious that patrons in the club were on drugs and manifesting symptoms showing that they were,” and thus Fabric were in breach of their license.

The review was scheduled in response to the drug-related deaths of two teenage club-goers, Ryan Browne and Jack Crossley, in the space of a few weeks earlier this summer. The 2,500-capacity nightclub was subsequently forced to close its doors back on August 12, after the Metropolitan Police put in a request to the council to shut it down.

In the interim period, the clubbing world has taken to arms, rallying against the threat of forced closure: a petition that did the rounds on the internet picked up almost 150,000 signatures. As well as that, London’s Mayor, Sadiq Khan, recommended that a “common sense solution” be found in order to keep the club open, highlighting that “London’s iconic clubs are an essential part of our cultural landscape.”

The iconic club was launched by Keith Reilly and Cameron Leslie back in 1999 and has been fundamental in the city’s nightlife culture since, bringing in more than 6 million club-goers from across the world over the years.

The club has now made a statement in response to the ruling: “fabric is extremely disappointed with Islington Council’s decision to revoke our license. This is an especially sad day for those who have supported us, particularly the 250 staff who will now lose their jobs. Closing fabric is not the answer to the drug-related problems clubs like ours are working to prevent, and sets a troubling precedent for the future of London’s night time economy.”