The good news has emerged that, for now, Fabric is safe. However, the club and its patrons will have to adhere to strict anti-drug measures. The measures included the club's staff going to great lengths to search clubbers for drugs by hiring seven sniffer dogs and introducing mandatory ID checks and increasing CCTV. This will mean Fabric will be the first club in London to have sniffer dogs regularly patrol. According to the Evening Standard, each dog and its handler will cost the club £300 for a four-hour shift.
Cameron Leslie and Keith Reilly, founders of Fabric, commented:
"We need to see their written reasons but we fundamentally disagree on a number of key points," Leslie told the Standard, saying the club had struggled to find an appropriate sniffer dog company and had reservations about the ID scanner. "We are on the same page in lots of ways, we just have fundamental differences on how to operate that."
Reilly added:
"We do everything we can to stop people taking drugs in the club. What's happened recently is this country is awash with drugs. There's been a large batch of MDMA that's got more powerful and has caught the kids out."
Fabric had been threatened with closure at a license review yesterday after authorities raised severe concerns over the number of drug-related deaths, arrests and hospitalisations in around the club this year. However, an 11th hour petition went online, attracting over 35,000 supporters in a matter of hours. It has also been reported that the local authority and the police were always more keen on increased security than closing the club.
Chief Inspector Ian Howells commented:
"With the two recent deaths we have sought to engage to improve the security and search regime to mitigate further risks."
