Bouncers at Scala Valentine's ball 'groped guests in body search'

 
Scenes inside the Valentine's Day ball at the Scala nightclub
Miranda Bryant20 February 2015

Clubbers were left outraged and humiliated after bouncers allegedly groped them at a Valentine’s Day event in King’s Cross.

Several women claimed their breasts were touched during the body searches, while one said a female member of door staff lifted up her skirt.

The all-night Time & Space Valentine Ball at Scala, organised by events firm Frantic, was sold out in advance.

But dozens of clubbers claimed they were left feeling violated. One, a travel industry worker from King’s Cross, told the Standard a female bouncer “placed her hands under my breasts and searched the area under my bra. Then her hands went down my skirt and she lifted it high up.”

She added: “I have never experienced anyone ever, not at an airport or at another club, lift up my skirt. She didn’t ask permission to do so, she didn’t warn me … I felt very humiliated and offended. I felt sexually harassed.”

In an email to the woman, Scala said fears about “dangerous pills” circulating around London clubs had led to tougher searches. It said: “We are sorry that you had a bad experience at Scala but we hope you understand that our intentions were purely for the safety of our customers … Scala does not condone or endorse any inappropriate behaviour by our staff or security.”

'Grope' claims: Clubbers say they were inappropriately searched by bouncers at Scala

Dozens of attendees, both male and female, claimed on a Facebook page they had been harassed.

One said: “Tight but polite doesn’t mean stick your hand up my bra and have a grope. It was invasive.”

Organisers Frantic did not respond to requests for comment, but apologised in posts on the Facebook event page. They wrote: “As stated before the event, the search would be tight but polite. The venue was informed about a rogue batch of lethal ‘UPS’ stamped pills in circulation and therefore a strict search policy was in place.”

They added: “Frantic would like to apologise if you feel the search was inappropriate. We will be speaking to the venue management about the situation who will fully investigate … 

“We would also like to point out that the search policies are not in Frantic’s control.”

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