In a hearing with Birmingham City Council this afternoon, (28 November) it has been announced that The Rainbow Venues – the company behind some of Birmingham’s most popular clubs and warehouse space events – have had their licence revoked by a licensing sub-committee.

Today’s ruling comes after 19-year-old Michael Trueman, who fell ill after taking the illegal substance MDMA at a Halloween event last month, tragically died in hospital on Monday 30th October.

The Rainbow Venues license has been suspended since 2nd November. This is the second drug-related tragedy in two years at the venue, following the untimely death of 18-year-old Dylan Booth at a New Year’s event in 2015.

Friends say Trueman told paramedics there was “something blue in his drink” before he slipped in to a coma and subsequently died in hospital, less than two days after the event took place.

The Rainbow Venues promotion company run a number of Digbeth venues including The Rainbow Warehouse, Spotlight, Blackbox and Crane, amongst others.

It is unclear as of yet as to what will happen regarding the venue’s forthcoming events, and which venue(s) it will impact directly. The Rainbow Venues have yet to comment.

A full written document on the reasoning behind the decision to revoke The Rainbow Venues’ license is to be released later today, and there will be a 21-day window to appeal the verdict.

Further updates to follow.

Update: The Rainbow Venues have today (November 29) released a statement. Read it here.