Manchester council said the venue’s licence has been temporarily suspended, pending a full review.
Staff at a Gorton pub will be questioned by police who believe a ‘deliberate attempt to hinder a serious ongoing investigation’ was made by ‘removing’ CCTV footage.
Greater Manchester Police visited The Angel, at 37 Wellington Street in Gorton, multiple times in early April to ask for CCTV recordings as they investigated a ‘suspected kidnapping’ in the area, council licensing papers say.
Each time officers visited they were unable to download the footage, according to a report published on Manchester council’s website. The report said the CCTV system used by the pub was later changed.
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GMP believe there was a ‘deliberate attempt to hinder a serious ongoing investigation by removing or destroying CCTV footage’, documents add. The pub’s premises licence has been temporarily suspended by Manchester council pending a full review.
It comes after police raised concerns ‘further crime will occur and place customers in danger’ and over ‘concerns in relation to the serious crime at the premises’.
The pub has not responded to the Local Democracy Service/Manchester Evening News following a request for comment. Details were published in a report on the council’s website for a licensing hearing on April 27.
According to town hall papers, GMP visited the pub on April 12 to speak to staff about downloading the CCTV footage for an investigation into a suspected kidnapping in the area.
The report reads: “The officers spoke with the manager at the premises, who was unable to assist the officers in downloading footage but did permit them to record some of the relevant footage from the screen using a mobile device.”
Another visit was arranged the next day from an imaging support officer, the report added. The officer was told the pub ‘did not have the password’ for the CCTV hard drive system, documents say.
Police noted during the visit the CCTV system was a ‘16-channel Maxxone DVR’ that appeared to be in ‘full’ working order, it was said.
A third visit was made on April 14 when the imaging support officer was ‘refused access to the CCTV system’ despite explaining the ‘the very serious nature of the investigation’, documents say.
During a fourth visit on April 21, officers found ‘the CCTV system was now a different model (a 4-channel Swann system) from the original one and that the earliest available footage was from 14th April 2026, after the first two CCTV requests’, the report says.
The report adds: “The original CCTV system has not been provided and its whereabouts are unknown.
‘As a result of these extensive CCTV enquiries and a belief that the management at the premises have made a deliberate attempt to hinder a serious ongoing investigation by removing or destroying CCTV footage, a further crime for perverting the course of justice has been recorded and is now also being investigated.
“In due course, management and staff from The Angel will be questioned about this offence. GMP now has no confidence in the management of the premises or the designated premises supervisor to promote the licensing objectives, we believe there has been a deliberate attempt by staff at The Angel to hinder a police investigation and that staff are now involved in serious crime.”
GMP declined to comment.
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