London restaurant launches second bid to bring back worker banned 'for safety of women and girls'

A Sidcup restaurant has launched a second bid to bring back an employee who was banned from working there “to protect women and girls”.The move has been criticised by the Metropolitan Police as an attempt to “circumvent” the ban they feel is necessary to promote safety at the Bexley eatery.Greek Meze 2 at 299 Main Road in Sidcup has applied for a new premises licence so it can bring back former employee Niko Ntiso. He was banned from working at the restaurant last year after police received multiple complaints about him.This is the second time this year the Greek restaurant has attempted to bring back Mr Ntiso, despite police giving evidence that he grabbed a female customer by the neck and attempted to pour alcohol down her throat.Bexley Council’s Licensing Sub-Committee banned Mr Ntiso from working at the Greek restaurant and shisha lounge in February 2025 because police evidence claimed he had been pouring alcoholic drinks directly into the mouths of customers. Police also gave evidence that Mr Ntiso had grabbed female customers on multiple occasions.Greek Meze 2 applied to have the condition banning Mr Ntiso removed from its licence less than a year later, citing “significant operational changes” and Mr Ntiso’s undertaking of conflict management training and welfare and vulnerability engagement training as reasons why it should be overturned.This application was refused by the same committee in March after police said female customers at Greek Meze 2 want “to have a nice night out without being grabbed, plied with alcohol or manhandled” and that Mr Ntiso’s ban was “necessary to protect women and girls”.Greek Meze 2’s premises licence holder Leonard Truni submitted a new premises licence application on June 2. Unlike the previous one, this latest application is for a new premises licence altogether, rather than an application to vary Greek Meze’s 2 current licence.The new licence seeks the same licensable activities and hours with conditions that mirror or slightly differ from the wording of the current ones. The main difference is that the condition banning Mr Ntiso has been removed.Mr Truni suggested at a previous licensing hearing that takings at Greek Meze 2 were down 50 per cent since Mr Ntiso’s ban and the restaurant was facing closure.Read MorePC Kate Ellen strongly objected to the application and called it “purely a way to circumvent” the ban. She reiterated that Mr Ntiso had demonstrated a “clear pattern of inappropriate and unacceptable behaviour”.PC Ellen said: “Therefore in light of the consistent pattern of behaviour, the repeated failure of management to uphold assurances, and the continued impact on female patrons, the police position is clear: if this licence is permitted to continue without the relevant condition restricting Mr Ntiso’s involvement, the cycle of incidents will persist.“Women will continue to be placed in situations where they feel unsafe and vulnerable, and confidence in the management of this premises will be further undermined.”Bexley’s licensing team objected to the application for similar reasons as the police. The borough’s Environmental Health department objected because Greek Meze 2 received 15 noise complaints in the last year.Bexley Council’s Licensing Sub-Committee will consider this latest premises licence application for Greek Meze 2 next week.