Speke man prosecuted for working illegally at a Wirral bar
On Thursday 17 August a Speke company director was prosecuted at Liverpool Magistrates’ Court for working without a valid SIA licence.
Paul Skyner pleaded guilty to working illegally in the Wirral’s night time economy and the court fined him £540 and ordered him to pay a victim surcharge of £216 and prosecution costs of £1,000.
The SIA brought the prosecution following a joint operation with Merseyside Police and Wirral Council’s licensing department. Together they carried out routine licence checks on 13 January 2023 in the Wirral’s night time economy. Investigators visited a bar and found two licensed door supervisors working on shift. Investigators found out that they were deployed by Liverpool business, Azure Security Ltd and Skyner was its sole director.
Investigators noted from the venue’s signing-in book that Paul Skyner had worked at the venue on 23 December 2022 and identified that his SIA licence had expired on 20 December 2022. He had made no attempt to renew his licence before it expired. Mr Skyner is required by law to be licensed to deploy staff because he is a company director of a security business.
Paul Skyner was interviewed under caution by SIA criminal investigators on 8 June 2023 at Merseyside Police’s Speke Police Station. Skyner admitted to working illegally in the private security industry. He also told investigators that he didn’t know that he had to be licensed to supply security from his business.
Nicola Bolton, one of the SIA’s Criminal Investigations Managers said:
Having previously held an SIA licence Mr Skyner knew the requirement to be licensed to work in the private security industry. Directors have a responsibility to know the law when deploying staff to work in the private security industry. Mr Skyner was prosecuted for working one night illegally during the run up to Christmas and for supplying two door supervisors to a Wirral bar in January 2023. By doing so he put the public at risk. He has pleaded guilty and he now has a criminal record.
Notes to editors:
- By law, security operatives working under contract must hold and display a valid SIA licence
- Read about SIA enforcement and penalties
- The offences relating to the Private Security Industry Act 2001 that are mentioned above are:
- 3 x Section 3 – engaging in licensable conduct without a licence
Further information:
- The Security Industry Authority is the organisation responsible for regulating the private security industry in the United Kingdom, reporting to the Home Secretary under the terms of the Private Security Industry Act 2001. The SIA’s main duties are the compulsory licensing of individuals undertaking designated activities and managing the voluntary Approved Contractor Scheme.
- For further information about the Security Industry Authority or to sign up for email updates visit: www.gov.uk/sia. The SIA is also on LinkedIn Facebook (Security Industry Authority) and Twitter (@SIAuk).