A shop in Swindon which was told it would lose its licence to sell drink has kept it after a second hearing.

The Home Office had requested a review of the licence of Okus Stores in Celsus Grove near Old Town.

Immigration officials had visited the shop in April 2023 and their submitted evidence to Swindon Borough Council’s three-councillor strong review panel said they had observed two men working in the store.

The submission said neither man had the right to do the work – one was on a student visa but the Home Office said he admitted to not doing any studying and that he was working more hours, while the other was not eligible to do any paid work at all.

At an initial hearing of the council’s licensing panel held in October saw one of the licensees Gangadeep Samra arrive late, after a mix-up about whether the panel was meeting, and without representation.

The panel revoked the licence, but as is his right, Mr Samra appealed to magistrates.

His solicitor Paddy Whur told the reconvened panel that he and the borough council’s solicitor had met before the appeal hearing and agreed to a second hearing by councillors.

The Home Office immigration officials did not add to their already-submitted evidence. At the initial hearing Swindon Borough Council’s trading standards team had provided a submission that a test purchase in March 2023 had seen a child sold vaping products.

Trading Standards also did not add to what they had already submitted.

Mr Whur told the panel that the fact the Home Office had not sought to take the licenses to court was significant and that Mr Samra and his co-licencee had agreed to be set the conditions the Home Office had suggested a possible sanction.

He said: “This would be an appropriate and proportionate sanction.”

One of the conditions is that the shop works with an independent immigration compliance business to check the status of new members of staff, and Mr Whur said: “In fact Mr Samra has engaged a lawyer, so you can add the word ‘lawyer’ to the condition to give extra assurance.”

Other conditions include the store’s bosses must carry out checks and retain documents on their employees’ right to work, new employees must not be taken on without proof of identity and their right to work, the managers must be able to produce that evidence to authorised officials.

After being told he could retain his licence Mr Samra said: “I’m pleased by the decision, but disappointed it’s taken so long. It’s been a long time.”