Employee said Davenport organised event and took payment from revellers

Convicted fraudster Eddie Davenport (pictured) organised the event and took payment from high-spirited revellers where a bouncer was stabbed to death

The doorman stabbed in Mayfair on New Year's Eve died protecting wealthy clients at a flamboyant party run by disgraced self-styled aristocrat Lord 'Fast Eddie' Davenport, it has been claimed.

The peer, known for his opulent sex parties, was seen helping with the payments on the door at the exclusive late night 'after-party' when thugs tried to storm their way into the Park Lane venue where Arab princes, tycoons and revellers were celebrating.

A source told MailOnline: 'It was a wild party. You name it, it was available.'

Doorman Tudor Simionov was killed after being knifed in the chest and the party hostess was also seriously injured when violence erupted at about 5.30am.

Self-styled ‘Lord’ Davenport, 53, a disgraced former friend to the stars who made his name running ‘Gatecrasher’ balls for public school pupils, was given an eight-year jail term in September 2011 for a £4.5million fraud.

But he was released from prison after three years as an ‘act of mercy’ when he convinced judges he was gravely ill with kidney problems - but he is clearly enjoying life as a free man.

An employee at the New Year's Eve party said Eddie Davenport organised the event and took payment from high-spirited revellers.

The member of staff, who asked not to be named, told MailOnline: 'Eddie organised the party. He was the one who handled payment.

'He was the one with the card machine and collecting cash. For example, five males were charged £2,000, three males were £800 and I think one male single entry was £100. Prices weren't fixed, they went up and down. Davenport worked with two other chaps and a Chinese lady.'

A neighbour said that there were 'girls dressed in sexy outfits and lingerie coming in and out' all night and told The Sun: 'It looked like a sex themed event'.

Romanian Tudor (pictured with his girlfriend Madalina) died trying to stop a group of gatecrashers from entering the private bash

Lord Edward Davenport uploaded a picture onto his Instagram with two staff from Thai Airways, and said he was 'heading to London and ready to party'

Lord Davenport (pictured right) uploaded a picture to his Instagram of him and some friends at a Halloween after party

Police officers and forensic Staff in Park Lane, Mayfair after bouncer Tudor Simionov was killed after being knifed in the chest

Tudor Simionov, pictured working just hours before he was fatally attacked outside a private New Year's party at the Fountain House on Park Lane

A second source well placed inside the London party scene said: 'The party at 80 Park Lane was organized by Lord Davenport.

'Fast Eddie had got a lot in a lot of brass [high-class prostitutes] and he had a lot of his friends and old clients there.

'It was all going well until the bad element turned up. The hostess told the door staff not to let them in and then it all kicked off.

'One of the doorman got stabbed and died and the hostess got slashed. It's absolutely tragic he is a young lad you had not been in London for long.'

A neighbour told The Sun: 'Before the stabbing there were girls dressed in sexy outfits and lingerie coming in and out.

'It looked like a sex-themed event — high heels, corsets and so on.'

Club promoter Tommy Mack also said Davenport was involved in the party and said there were many affluent guests who spent thousands to secure a table.

'Fast Eddie [Davenport] is a great guy and runs the best parties. He organised the New Year's Eve party in Park Lane. It was a private party but word got out and the bad element turned up.

'It's absolutely terrible what happened to the doorman.

'There were a lot of Eddie's friends and clients there – Arab princes, people with money, that kind of thing. There were some lovely girls there and they had paid thousands to book a table at the party and they did not want thugs ruining their night.'

Last night Davenport 's law firm Rainer Hughes maintained their client did not organise the party, take any money from clients or pay anyone to promote the party.

But a spokesman admitted he did not know if his client was there: 'I am awaiting instructions from Mr Davenport as to whether he was at the party or not.'

Lord 'Fast Eddie' Davenport, uploaded a picture of him on Mount Street in Mayfair in December, close to Park Lane

Tudor Simionov, 33, is shown in the centre of the screen wearing a white shirt and black tie fighting off gatecrashers trying to get into the Mayfair townhouse he was guarding

The bouncer, who only came to the UK two months ago, was punching and pushing away the mob trying to raid the Park Lane party he was protecting

Footage uncovered by MailOnline after the attack also shows the mob having vases and lamps thrown at them from the foyer with one of the attackers getting smashed in the head and fleeing from the blood-stained doorstep

Tudor's girlfriend Madalina posted a picture of them flying to the UK on October 20 with the hashtag #goodbyeRomania and said today tehy moved to the UK for a better life

The final moments of a bouncer stabbed to death by a mob trying to gatecrash an exclusive New Year's Eve party at a £12.5million Mayfair townhouse were revealed today.

Tudor Simionov, 33, was filmed fighting off up to nine men seconds before he was murdered outside 80 Park Lane - where a private £2,000-a-table gathering was going on - at 5.30am yesterday.

The Romanian fitness fanatic fought off nine men single-handed before he was murdered in the early hours of New Year's Eve

Mr Simionov is seen pushing the men away and throwing punches as the gang try to storm the luxury apartment block overlooking Hyde Park - but the Snapchat film ends before he was knifed in the chest.

Footage from after the stabbing shows the mob having vases thrown at them from the foyer with one of the attackers getting smashed in the head and fleeing from the blood-stained doorstep.

Tudor had moved to the UK from Romania 'for a better life' just two months ago and his heartbroken girlfriend has revealed how they had intended to marry and start a family in 2019.

Madalina Anghel said today: 'Right now I can't think about him in the past. He was my future husband and we came to London from Romania for a better life. I can't explain in words how much pain I am in'.

The doorman was fatally stabbed as he guarded the £5,000-a-week rental property, described as Britain's most exclusive student pad and previously linked to swingers' parties.

Tudor's girlfriend Madalina posted a picture of them flying to the UK on October 20 with the hashtag #goodbyeRomania.

Anghel added in an interview with the Evening Standard today: 'He was a really good man. We were happily and excitedly talking about having children together.'

Club promoter Leroy Rose, 25, fought to save Mr Simionov's life but said he only survived around a minute after being stabbed in the chest.

He told the Standard: 'I saw him come back inside. He was in a suit and it was covered in blood. He didn't have a protective vest or anything. I saw blood coming from his chest.

'I pulled him into the back and grabbed a towel and held the wound. He never said a word, he was in a shock. He only survived for a minute. He was stabbed in the middle of the chest. He is a hero, he died trying to save his colleagues. He beat up about nine guys by himself.'

Tudor Simionov (left) was stabbed to death on another night of bloodshed in London and had planned to start a family with his heartbroken girlfriend Madalina (right)

Mr Simionov died on the Park Lane pavement where a police cordon and screen remains today

Blood remains on the floor on arguably London's most exclusive road left during one of two New Year murders in London so far

The house (pictured) features views of Hyde Park, glass floors, its own 24-hour concierge and a roof terrace. It is one of the world's most expensive student houses, costing £5,000 a week to rent

How self-styled Lord and convicted fraudster 'Fast Eddie' Davenport became infamous for throwing sex-and-booze Gatecrasher Balls for young aristocrats in the 1980s Eddie Davenport made a fortune in the 1980s running hedonistic Gatecrasher Balls The self-styled 'Lord' Davenport first came to public notice for organising the hedonistic Gatecrasher Balls frequented by wealthy teenagers, before making a fortune in property deals. He was a friend to the stars and photographed with Mick Jagger, Paris Hilton, Victoria Beckham, Sarah Ferguson and Hugh Grant at various parties. His £30million home, a mansion in London’s West End, was the former Sierra Leone High Commission and was used as a location for the Oscar-winning film The King’s Speech. The con artist, born Edward Ormus Sharington Davenport, was jailed after he promised millions of pounds to investors which never materialised after he had pocketed the administration fees and advance payments. Princess Diana’s wedding dress designer Elizabeth Emanuel lost the life savings she invested with Davenport. But he was released from prison after three years as an ‘act of mercy’ when he convinced judges he was gravely ill is clearly enjoying life as a free man. In 2014 he was pictured handcuffed to a prison guard in hospital after undergoing a second kidney transplant. He said at the time: ‘I know I’m fighting a death sentence. ‘I feel like an old man shuffling around, chained to a prison officer even when I want to go to the bathroom. 'I can’t even wear my own silk pyjamas – I have to wear the hospital ones. The truth is I feel shaky. I know I’m at death’s door'. Fast Eddie was jailed in 2011 (left) for ripping off friends and relesased after three years (right) after convincing a judge he was gravely ill In 2016 it emerged he was organising parties again but his lawyer has denied that he ran the New Year's Eve event where a bouncer was stabbed to death But after his release his health appears to have improved and he started organising parties again in 2016. Davenport's fall from grace is a far cry from his days at the heart of the London party scene in the 1980s. His black-tie Gatecrasher Balls, aimed at wealthy public school teenagers, quickly became synonymous with drunkenness and debauchery and helped him make his fortune. But it also led to his first fraud conviction and nine months in jail. Despite the setback, Davenport never lost his love of taking risks – even though it repeatedly landed him in trouble. In 1998, he and two other men were charged with running up an £18,000 bill at the luxury Gleneagles Hotel in Scotland during a five-day New Year party while posing as aristocrats. They denied the claims and charges were later dropped. A year later, he bought the lease of the Sierra Leone High Commission building in Central London for just £50,000 while the country was embroiled in civil war. But in May 2011 Davenport was given eight years for his part in a £4.5 million fraud, where the judge described him as the plot's 'ringmaster'. Advertisement

Two of the bouncers, along with a woman who worked at the venue booking tables, were also stabbed.

Mr Rose said: 'It is a place where high end clients come, people with a lot of money.

'It's usually people who we know and the venue know are coming. The people outside were trying to enter but they weren't allowed in.

'The owner is a very rich man, he is in the public eye. The place works by paying a fee to buy a table.'

Mr Rose said the bouncer had actually been placed inside the venue to monitor security but left to help his colleagues by the door after a group of nine or more thugs tried to make their way in.

He said: 'There was a fight outside and he came out to help. The security guards were getting beaten up and he went out to help them.

'He helped those guys but he had only been out there for about 30 seconds when he was stabbed in the middle of the chest..

'I saw him come back inside. I saw him bleeding and I said 'come here, come here' and I took him into the bathroom.

Blood was left on a lantern outside the block while a lamp was overturned in the foyer where Mr Simionov fought off at least nine men

The guard was trying to stop a group of gatecrashers from entering a private bash in the £12.5million Mayfair townhouse (pictured) when he was knifed

'His suit was covered in blood and it was coming out of his chest. He wasn't wearing a protective vest.

'I grabbed a towel and held the wound. He never said a word to me. I think he was in shock. He only survived for about a minute.

'He died in front of me with his eyes open, staring at me.

'I then went into the hallway and everything was smashed. They had managed to kick down the door. There were other people on the floor stabbed. There was blood all over the floor.'

Of the Romanian-born security guard, Mr Rose said: 'He was a nice guy. The nicest one of of all the security guards there.

'He is a hero, he died trying to save his colleagues. He took on nine of them.'

A 26-year-old man has since been arrested on suspicion of murder and is currently in custody at a central London police station.

Katarina Petran, 36, a close friend of Mr Simionov's girlfriend, said the doorman only decided to work after being offered more than double pay.

'He was being paid £400 to work on New Year's Eve, which is more than double what he earned as a doorman in the west end.

'Madalina didn't want him to initially work but he said they needed the money and it was too good to turn down as they had plans to start a family and needed it.'

Mr Simionov told her that the event was organised by a well known promoter and that tables cost between £1500 to £2000.

'Tudor started working for clubs and exclusive parties almost immediately after arriving in London. He also had a lot of experience as a doorman in his native Bucharest. He was also a keep fit fanatic.'

Mr Simionov was an accomplished boxer and rower and at one stage he had ambitions to row for Romania but gave them up to work after losing his father in his early 20s. He also lost his mother earlier this year.

He was a devout Christian who regularly attended church. Miss Petran said that Madalina is planning to take his body back to Romania for a traditional Orthodox funeral.

The Park Lane attack was filmed by witnesses outside the luxury three-bedroom home.

The house features views of Hyde Park, glass floors, its own 24-hour concierge and a roof terrace. It is one of the world's most expensive student houses, costing £5,000 a week to rent.

It is understood to have been used for swingers' parties in the past.

Detective Chief Inspector Andy Partridge said: 'It appears the deceased and the two injured males were working as security staff for the party.

'They were attacked by a group of males who were outside trying to enter. The female was also attacked as she assisted the security staff in closing the front door.

'This shocking incident happened just hours into a New Year, the area was particularly busy with people out celebrating and making their way home.'