Councillors have revoked Unions Café operating licence until 1st May, after manager Adriatik Zeqja aggressively confronted plain-clothed immigration officers who were checking for illegal workers, reports Sebastian Mann, Local Democracy Reporter

Union’s Cafe in Leyton High Road, Credit: Google Streetview

Waltham Forest Council has shut a Leyton café for a month after its manager aggressively confronted and “frightened” visiting immigration officers.

The immigration officers were so frightened by Union’s Café duty manager Adriatik Zeqja’s behaviour that they were forced to abandon their visit, the Metropolitan Police has said.

They had been checking for any illegal workers in the premises on 8th January, based on intelligence they had received. A police report said a male told the officers to “get the hell out of my shop”.

The team had to call in police officers, who arrived in plain clothes, but Zeqja “did not calm down,” an immigration officer said.

Both immigration and police officers soon left the café, reportedly fearing further escalation.

A visit from the Met later that month confirmed Zeqja had been the one captured on body-worn cameras.

The encounter prompted a licence review from the council’s licensing committee, which forced it to close for a month.

At a hearing on 1st April, councillors ordered the café to close until 1st May and for staff to undergo further training on their responsibilities. A representative from the council’s licensing department said it would give them time to ensure it had been implemented.

Zeqja apologised to the committee and vowed a similar incident would “never happen again,” but challenged several elements of the Home Office’s story.

He denied “throwing chairs or tables” and said he did not prevent the team from doing their job, as they were able to take a worker’s details. He also denied racially abusing the officers.

The former manager said he also did not believe it was “appropriate” for officers to be asking customers for identification and a historic break-in had left him on edge.

Zeqja is no longer involved in the business and will transfer the premises licence to his brother, his representative Nigel Carter told the committee.

He said staff had already received refresher training on 18th February – which his client paid “significant money” for – and unsuccessfully argued that shuttering the venue would be “unnecessary and punitive”.

He added that his client acknowledged the “very unsavoury” nature of the incident and “offered no excuses”.

Shkelzen Zeqja, Adriatik’s brother, who will take over the café, said he was the one ultimately being punished.

He said closing the business, even temporarily, would be “no good for me”. The committee said they would consider the impact in their deliberation.

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