MEZE MANGAL SCANDAL - Woolwich Crown Court – Mention Hearing Summary (21 October 2025)

THE BIG RETORT SPECIAL REPORT
A Borough without a conscience

Since 2020, two British citizens — Ahmet and Şahin Gök of Meze Mangal — have lived under the shadow of a law never meant for them. Their “crime”? Installing a kitchen extractor in response to a neighbour’s complaint. Their punishment? Criminal prosecution, confiscation proceedings under the Proceeds of Crime Act (POCA), and the seizure of their passports by Lewisham Council lawyers.

This is not regulation. It is retribution. It is “making an example.”

Lewisham Council, acting through its out-housed solicitors Browne Jacobson and its barrister Philip Vollans of No. 5 Chambers, has turned a planning dispute into a criminal trial. The council did so while telling magistrates that POCA escalation was “mandatory” — a statement that was, and remains, false. The matter could have been dealt with at magistrates’ court, AND an unlimited fine charged. But Lewisham would not have received over 37% of the take. That’s POCA.

The brothers have been branded offenders so the council can chase a £2.5 million “confiscation” payout — money that, if secured, goes not to victims, but into the council’s own accounts. Offers of paying smaller amounts of such a large bounty fall on deaf ears.

Yesterday at Woolwich Crown Court, a small measure of justice surfaced. But concerns for The Big Retort remain. Here’s why. 

Court Report: The Gök Brothers – Hearing of 22 October 2025

Judge: Her Honour Judge Charlotte Walsh (appointed a Circuit Judge by King Charles in 2003)
Prosecution: Mr Philip Vollans (No. 5 Chambers), instructed by Browne Jacobson LLP
Defence: Mr Quentin Hunt

The hearing commenced at 3:22 p.m. The prosecutor, Mr Vollans, appeared via video link — as per usual — fully robed. He confirmed he continued to act on instructions from Lewisham Council, via the out-housed legal firm Browne Jacobson (a name to remember).

The Turkish interpreter was sworn. Then, remarkably, the defendants, Ahmet and Şahin Gök, were escorted into a glass holding pen, flanked by a security officer and the interpreter. They seemed confused. The door was then locked. From the press gallery, they appeared small and diminished — their heads barely visible above the glass partitions as they sat.

The judge asked them to stand and confirm their identities, which they did through the interpreter. She remarked that she was “mindful not to waste people’s money if I don’t need to,” noting that the case had already dragged on far too long and costs had escalated.

Defence counsel Mr Hunt confirmed that there was no deal on the table (really?) and that the case would therefore proceed to a full trial in March 2026. He explained that earlier delays had been due to the brothers caring for their terminally ill father, now deceased, and that their cooperation since had been exemplary. The judge agreed, noting “a real improvement.”

Mr Hunt drew the court’s attention to the ongoing hardship caused by the passport seizure — imposed by Lewisham Council — which had prevented the brothers from attending family funerals in Turkey. He pressed for their permanent return, stressing that they were not flight risks, were in receipt of publicly verified legal funds (via GoFundMe contributors ring-fenced by The Big Retort), and had demonstrated integrity throughout.

The judge appeared moved. “They can be trusted to attend court,” she said, ordering that the passports be returned unconditionally and the defendants released on unconditional bail.

Mr Vollans, for the Council, raised no objection. Though it must be said that the passports were seized not by the judge’s request.

Addressing the brothers directly, Judge Welsh said:
“Messrs Gök — you’ve been very cooperative. I’m happy to release you on unconditional bail. You are free to come and go to Turkey as and when you wish.”

The brothers were released shortly thereafter from the glass holding pen — like battery hens.

The case is listed for full hearing on 19 March 2026.

Of course, we applaud the return of their passports. But the return, after so much heartache for the pair and the community they have served for decades, should not be treated as a triumph. It is a restoration of what should never have taken place. Two restaurateurs, treated as criminals for installing a fan, have endured humiliation, fear, and ruin at the hands of their own local authority.

£2.5 million pounds is the plunder for the POCA hunters.

The injustice continues.

The Big Retort

---

Editor’s Note:
As revealed in our earlier investigations, Lewisham Council’s own counsel told magistrates that escalation under the Proceeds of Crime Act was “mandatory” under Section 70 — a claim now proven false. The Act gives discretion, not obligation. That legal fiction set in motion the criminalisation of two local business owners and the destruction of their hard-working lives.

The Big Retort will continue to pursue this story until accountability reaches those at the top — including Mayor Brenda Dacres and the officers who signed off this abuse of process. We call them The Poca Hunters. And they are soon to be outed.

The Big Retort