Charlotte Despard manager Christopher Sparks with the Archway pub’s cat Legz

AN Archway pub has been saved from closure after dozens of loyal customers convinced councillors to reject a police bid to revoke its licence.

At the Town Hall on Wednesday, a legal representative for the Met police urged Islington councillors to consider shutting down the Charlotte Despard in Archway Road, citing the “hostile” behaviour of pub manager Chris Sparks.

But more than 20 regulars – including an NHS consultant and a little girl – turned out in solidarity with the pub and its landlords, swaying councillors to let the pub stay open.

The dispute arose following a violent fight at the pub in ­February, when co-manager Amber Knight was seriously assaulted by a stranger while closing up.

But when police checked CCTV, there were six “crucial” minutes of footage missing that would have shown how the fight started – with an implication that the publicans could have deleted it. They also accused Mr Sparks of being “erratic” during subsequent dealings over the licence.

At the meeting on Wednesday, the Met lawyer asked councillors if they could trust Mr Sparks and Ms Knight. But the pub’s supporters told a different story.

The Charlotte Despard

Ben Johnson, there with his young daughter Ella, said: “We feel as safe at the Charlotte Despard as we do in our own home. Amber and Chris are on the shortlist of people who are authorised to collect Ella from nursery if we can’t attend.

“Any insinuation that they don’t follow the rules and create a safe environment is mind-blowing to me.”

Dr Juveria Siddiqui, an NHS consultant, also voiced her solidarity, noting that Mr Sparks walks her home from the pub if she ever feels unsafe at night, and that both landlords were invited to her wedding.

When the publicans themselves addressed the hearing, they rejected the implication that they had deleted the CCTV footage.

“There is zero reason why any of us would have done something because this guy nearly beat me to death,” said Ms Knight, who has suffered PTSD and anxiety since the incident.

Licensing chair Councillor Heather Staff concluded that revoking the licence “would not be proportionate”, as long as the publicans and police could work constructively together in future.