Karen#1
Well-known member
Former Scientology London staffer Alex Barnes-Ross just never stops. And this time, he’s really gone and done it.
Alex has filed a challenge to Scientology’s “Premises Licence” at its UK headquarters, the Saint Hill Manor estate in East Grinstead, England. As you will see in Alex’s application which we are publishing here in full, he’s raising various issues about Scientology’s annual IAS gala held each autumn, when a few thousand Scientologists spend three days on the estate and in a giant tent.
Alex is asking the Mid Sussex District Council to question whether this once-a-year large event is a violation of the license that Scientology presently has. As he explains in his application, he doesn’t question Scientology’s right to have small gatherings at its campus, but the IAS gala is disruptive and should be considered a violation of the terms that Scientology’s license represents.
And over the last two years, we’ve seen that local governments are taking Alex’s concerns more seriously, and we think the district council will give this the consideration it deserves. Here’s what Alex submitted, which is public and can be commented on until January 8…
I have grounds to believe the Premises Licence Holder has failed to meet the licensing objectives of the prevention of crime and disorder, public safety, the prevention of public nuisance and the protection of children from harm…
Over the last three years, the Church of Scientology have hosted a large gathering at their Saint Hill compound across one weekend in October, which thousands of people attend from across the world. This gathering, known as the IAS event (International Association of Scientologists) causes considerable disruption to the local community and it is clear the licensing objectives are not being met.
I am not seeking for the Premises Licence to be revoked entirely, as I believe the Church of Scientology have the right to hold events on their property and have no objection to them doing so. However, I do believe that the conditions on the licence are inadequate and greater measures are required so as to ensure the licensing objectives are being met, and to minimise the disruption caused by larger-scale events at the property, such as the annual IAS event.
Prevention of Crime and Disorder
Many of the workers who are flown in to facilitate the IAS event do so under the visa waiver program or using Religious Minister visas, which stipulate the worker must be engaging in clergy work that relates to the administering of religious practice, not sales, fundraising, video production or event management.
The IAS event is as its primary function a fundraising exercise for the Church of Scientology’s membership body and generates millions of dollars for the organisation annually. The Patrons Ball, which typically takes place on the Saturday, is a black tie dinner at which Scientology’s donors receive trophies and awards for donating vast sums of money, as evidenced by promotional materials published by the church after the event. Ticket prices start at $600, and a number of staff from overseas are expected to perform tasks unrelated to the administering of Scientology’s so-called religious activities, such as sales and event production.
The local authority has not done due diligence to ensure those visiting the United Kingdom in order to work at this event are doing so under the correct visa/work permits, and having spoken to several ex-workers, it is clear this is a systemic, repetitive issue that has not been duly investigated.
In December 2025, the Church of Scientology was the victim of a ransomware attack by Russian cybercriminal group Qilin, who accessed and published a number of internal documents relating to the Premises Licence Holder and the IAS event held at Saint Hill. These documents include evidence a number of workers were flown from Scientology properties in Europe to work as security staff during the IAS events in 2024 and 2025 (Appendices 01A and 01B) and that at least 4 staff members were working at the property without the required work visas during the event that took place in October 2025 (Appendix-02).
A Freedom of Information Act request submitted to the Home Office revealed that in 2023, a total of 21 religious worker visas had been granted under sponsorship by the Premises Licence Holder (Appendices 03A and 03B).
Legislation requires workers to be paid at least the minimum wage, which for a full time 40 hour work-week would have equated to £21,673 per annum. Staff at Saint Hill are members of Scientology’s ‘Sea Organisation’ and sign one-billion year contracts and are expected to work 7 days a week, often 14-16 hours a day with no time off.
They are provided communal berthing, food and a weekly stipend of just £50 a week for their lifetime of service.
Even if the holders of these visas were working just 40 hours per week, one would expect to see an increased expenditure on staff wages of £455,145 reflected in the Premises Licence Holder’s annual accounts if they were being paid the National Minimum Wage. However, the 2023 accounts filed with Companies House (Appendix-04) show an increased expenditure of just $294,860 AUD (£148,095 GBP) which suggests the workers at Saint Hill who have had their visas sponsored by Scientology are not being paid minimum wage, which is in breach of visa rules.
Under the Immigration Act 2016, as specified under Section 3.1 of the Mid-Sussex District Council Statement of Licensing Policy, the Licensing Authority has a statutory duty to ensure licences and authorisations are not issued to “persons who are unable to provide evidence” of rights to work. There are currently no conditions on the Premises Licence which relate to overseas workers, visas or the minimum wage and for this reason, I believe greater scrutiny is required to ensure the Premises Licence Holder is meeting their obligations under UK legislation to ensure staff members visiting the UK in order to work at large-scale events, such as the IAS event at Saint Hill, are doing so with the correct visas and that they are being paid the minimum wage.
The Church of Scientology has a documented history of engaging in illegal activity including the largest infiltration of the US government in its history, known as Operation Snow White. They have also been found guilty of fraud on multiple occasions in Europe and were rejected by the Charity Commission in 1999 after it ruled Scientology “does not benefit the public.” The current Premises Licence allows the organisation to engage in prolific fundraising activities for an overseas entity with no checks and balances to ensure such activity is taking place lawfully and without threat, coercion and/or intimidation. It is therefore necessary for the Council to consider limiting the scale of events held on the property so as to minimise the likelihood of such illegal activities taking place, or having a widespread impact on the local economy.
Public Safety
During the IAS event held at Saint Hill in 2023, 2024 and 2025, inadequate measures were put in place by the Premises Licence Holder so as to protect the public, and evidence suggests there is a lack of due regard for public safety during these large-scale events.
The premises is located on Saint Hill Road, a dark and narrow country lane that is ill-equipped to handle the foot and vehicular traffic generated by large-scale events. During the Council’s review of the Premises Licence Holder’s application for a Public Spaces Protection Order in 2025, meeting notes evidence a concern from the Licensing Authority and Sussex Police around public safety and demonstrate a lack of precautions taken on the Licence Holder’s part in order to mitigate these concerns (Appendix-05).
Although the Premises Licence Holder agreed to review its security arrangements so as to satisfy the authorities’ concerns around public safety, the measures suggested in this meeting were not implemented during the 2025 IAS event. Namely, additional lighting was not implemented around the entrance to the property, an alternative entrance was not provided for pedestrian traffic that would prevent people from walking in the road and security staff did not wear hi-vis jackets.
In 2025, the Premises Licence Holder was granted a Planting Licence by West Sussex Highways, which authorised the planting of 35 trees to create a hedgerow on public land directly opposite the entrance to their property. However, inspections by the Highways Authority show that a total of 105 trees were planted, leading to an unlawful obstruction of the public right of way which minimised the space available as a pedestrian refuge along Saint Hill Road. The Premises Licence Holder also erected hoarding along the Highway around the entrance to their property which, although was authorised under the assumption it would create a barrier between pedestrians accessing the site for the event and road traffic, in practice resulted in an increased number of pedestrians walking in the road in order to avoid the hoarding (Appendix-06).
In addition to the hoarding, the Premises Licence Holder also placed planters and other obstructions on public land directly outside their entrance during the event in both 2024 and 2025, which despite being ordered to remove by Highways, remained in place for the entirety of the weekend.
Scientology's license to host large events at its UK headquarters faces challenge
Former Scientology London staffer Alex Barnes-Ross just never stops.
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