The son of a notorious Newcastle hardman is being “unfairly treated” by city authorities in a dispute over booze sales, councillors have been told.
A barrister for John Henry Sayers Jr claimed on Friday that it would be wrong to deny him the right to serve alcoholic drinks from a food kiosk in the city centre on the basis of his father’s infamous history in Newcastle’s criminal underworld. Police have alleged that proposals to sell drinks, including mulled wine and hot toddies, from the Saye’s To Go stall in Northumberland Street would leave it “vulnerable to serious organised crime” and may be an attempt for the family to gain “legitimacy” in the eyes of Tyneside decision-makers.
Councillors are now set to rule on whether or not to award the controversial licence, which had first sparked a row earlier this year, following a Newcastle City Council hearing on Friday morning. Barrister Jeremy Barton told the authority’s licensing sub-committee that it would be “wholly wrong” to deny his client a licence because of his father, John Henry Sr, and argued that other traders are not subject to criminal background checks on their family members.
