'Iconic' Turkish restaurant loses licence after immigration raid

An “iconic” Turkish restaurant in Cambridgeshire has lost its licence after three members of staff were found working there illegally.

Pera Palace in Chatteris was visited by immigration officers in November last year and its parent company Hupus Ltd issued a £45,000 fine.

The restaurant's licence holder Hasan Ates was also brought in front of a Fenland District Council (FDC) hearing after the Home Office asked for a review.

At the hearing, Mr Ates denied that illegal workers were employed at the restaurant and said that an appeal has been brought against the fine.

There’s “never, ever been an activity inside the company like that” he said, adding that all paperwork is now up to date for all workers.

He also called Pera Palace an “iconic” and “popular” establishment with a “decent name in the industry”.

But enforcement officer Paul Phillips said that the staff were “one hundred percent working illegally”, while hearing chair Cllr Michael Humphrey (Conservatives) said “no evidence” had been presented to the contrary.

Home Office documents suggest that one of Pera Palace's illegal workers entered the UK by using a travel document they weren't entitled to while another overstayed their visa.

A third had the right to work, they say, but only as a self-employed plumber.

Councillors at the hearing were provided with enforcement officers' witness statements which say that when they entered the building, individuals looked nervous and even tried to run away.

Staff were then unable to produce evidence of their right to work in the UK.

Cllr Humphrey delivered FDC's decision to revoke Pera Palace's licence in full, saying it takes a "serious view" of illegal workers.

He then told Mr Ates, who attended the hearing with business owner Ali Alvik, that they have 21 days to lodge an appeal against the decision at Peterborough Magistrates’ Court.