Brixton Academy crush: Asake has not done enough, say families

Video posted on social media depicted long lines of people waiting to enter the sold-out performance by Afrobeats musician Asake, many of whom appeared to be without tickets.

The family of the victims believe they are still in the dark and have not heard from the artist a year later.

To learn more about how it transpired, the families and the police are requesting additional evidence from the public.

In the days and weeks that followed, questions were raised concerning the security of the venue's doors as well as personnel levels, specifically over the availability of enough medical coverage.

That evening, 23-year-old Kent resident Gaby Hutchinson was employed as a security contractor.

Nina and Kelsey Hutchinson, Gaby's sisters, assert that Asake hasn't done everything he could.

"Asake is the main person who can help," Kelsey stated. Not nearly enough has he done to support the families. Perhaps sufficient for him. He has mentioned Gaby in speeches and performances, but he hasn't taken any action to aid in the probe."

"He can utilize his voice for good; he has one. He might approach his followers and make the appeals in order to get their support. These individuals had cameras, and they are able to provide comments."

"It never gets any easier to relive everything that happened a year ago," Nina continued. There will always be someone absent and someone who should be there: Gaby. Even in this modern era, we still lack such answers."

"It never gets any easier to relive everything that happened a year ago," Nina continued. There will always be someone absent and someone who should be there: Gaby. Even in this modern era, we still lack such answers."

mother of two Another victim of the crush was Rebecca Ikumelo, 33, of Stratford, east London.

In relation to Asake, Rebecca's parents, Anthony Ikumelo and Yetunde Olodo, said that the musician had not gotten in touch with them either.

Mr Ikumelo said: "Asake has been back to the country twice since the incident and twice he hasn't checked in to the families to ask us how we're coping.

"Maybe he doesn't want to contact us but he should do what he thinks is right. It's been a year but for us it feels like last week. What makes it so painful is that we are still waiting for answers: we don't understand why this happened. Rebecca went to see her idol and never returned home."

The South London music venue's licence was suspended shortly after last December following heavy criticism in the aftermath of the incident.

The venue faced permanent closure after the Met Police urged the council to remove its licence.

Following a two-day hearing in September, Lambeth Council's licensing sub-committee voted to allow the venue to continue operating - so long as it met "77 extensive and robust new conditions".

These 77 conditions include:

Stronger doors

New crowd management systems

More detailed risk assessments

A new ticketing system

A centralised control and command centre

New security and management.

Speaking about the building's reopening, Mr Ikumelo, said: "We understand that eventually it's going to open - but why can't we wait for the police investigation to finish?

"Secondly, we weren't contacted at all when they concluded that it was going to reopen.

"We don't have a say on this. But at least they could have the decency to tell us and ask how we are coping. Not doing this, I think, was wrong."

'Shredded our family'

Kelsey agreed, adding: "We understand that it is a historic building and that it needs to reopen. But they need to commemorate the people [who were] lost there.

"Gaby and Rebecca lost their lives and possibly a third person, we don't know."

She called for some respect to be shown towards the victims.

Nina said: "They say it's 'lessons learnt'. But for us it's not a lesson. It's completely changed our lives and shredded our family.

"Maybe it should not be [the venue's owner] in [charge in] the future. Maybe it should be someone [else] or at least they should have a massive reshuffle."

A spokesperson for the venue's owner, Academy Music Group (AMG), said a timeline for when it will reopen will be announced.

Det Ch Insp Nigel Kenny from the Met Police said the investigation is continuing.

"We're still going through thousands of documents to ascertain how this happened. But we still need help from [those who] were there. Even though it's 12 months, we still need people to come forward," he said.

He added that the force has CCTV images of 13 people it would like contact who, the police believe, can answer questions about what they saw.

A spokesperson for ANG said: "ANG continues to be devastated by the events of 15 December 2022 and our heartfelt condolences remain with the family and friends of Rebecca Ikumelo and Gaby Hutchinson.

"What happened was and is a tragedy. Over the past year we have been driven by determination to learn all appropriate lessons from that night to ensure it can never be repeated.

"We are pleased that the comprehensive plan for reopening the venue met with the approval of Lambeth licensing sub-committee.

"AMG is working hard to implement the new conditions before welcoming fans back to O2 Academy Brixton.

An announcement regarding the reopening timeline will be made in due course, according to a Lambeth Council spokesperson. "We stand ready to meet with the bereaved families to listen to their concerns and discuss the issues," the spokesperson added. "The licensing sub-committee's decision had to focus on what, if any, appropriate measures are needed for the venue to safely reopen. They also emphasised that their decision was based solely on what was put before them at the hearing." Asake's representatives have been contacted for comment.