Did Rita Ora flout lockdown rules? Missing CCTV footage of singer's birthday bash raises speculations
Things are not looking too good for singer Rita Ora, as she is said to have flouted the lockdown rules at a Notting Hill restaurant for her 30th birthday. There is no CCTV footage from that day.
Apparently, the security of the entourage wanted 'no recordings of the attendees', and hence, the CCTV footage was turned off between 6 pm and 6.30 pm on November 28. The CCTV drive had been reformatted on November 30, at 3.15 pm, two days after the party, with no stored footage available before or the preceding 31 days.
In a statement to police on December 1, publicly available in a license review for Casa Cruz, which is scheduled to take place on Thursday, former boss Scottie Bhattarai also claimed that Ora's team had allegedly offered £5,000 to use the venue.
The document claims: "The security for the entourage wanted no recordings of the attendees — Rita Ora etc, to be made, hence the DPS decided to turn off the CCTV in the premises at between 18.00 & 18.30. He also stated that CCTV was faulty prior and scheduled for repair."
Bhattarai also said that he had been contacted by representatives of Ora on November 28, 5.30 pm on Saturday, in 'relation to holding an event inside the premises for "drinks and nibbles", where they allegedly offered £5,000 to use the venue. He said that due to staff being furloughed, he 'attended the restaurant to facilitate the event', admitting that he was 'greedy'.
Bhattarai added that the group attended the venue at 7 pm with a planned seven to eight guests. However, by 9 pm, there were about 17 people, who brought their own alcohol to the restaurant, including bottles of Ora's tequila brand.
He mentioned that some of the guests who attended the bash were supermodel Cara Delevingne and her actress sister Poppy. They were also both papped at the event.
The document adds, "Mr Bhattarai was aware of the breach in COVID laws, taking full responsibility for facilitating this event without the knowledge of the licensee."
Bhattarai revealed at the time, no payment had been taken and he was unwilling to share the organizer's details. In the document, it is mentioned that the police said that they arrived at the scene at 11.32 pm after receiving allegations of a breach of Covid regulations.
Officers could not see through the windows, which were blacked out, but noticed that people were not wearing masks. Police say that they knocked on windows and doors but there was no response, though the music stopped.
Rita was caught twice flouting lockdown rules in November. The Mail On Sunday revealed that just before her birthday bash, the singer flew by private jet to Cairo on November 21 to perform at the five-star W Hotel. She returned the next day, and according to the government quarantine rules, she should have self-isolated for 14 days.
Instead, she threw a birthday party on November 28 at the exclusive Casa Cruz restaurant in Notting Hill, West London.