Reading Express is an off-licence store in Oxford Road, within walking distance of the town centre.
Customers can buy a range of grab-and-go items from the store, including food, snacks, drinks and alcohol.
But the store owner made a serious mistake by letting a man from Afghanistan run it for him despite not having the right to work in the UK.
The man illegally entered the UK in May 2018 with no documents and claimed asylum, which was refused in July 2020.
Shop faces trouble after Afghan asylum seeker is caught serving customers
He has appealed this decision, meaning he is still classed as an asylum seeker while his case is reviewed.
Ravinder Singh Arora, the owner of the store, has paid a £28,000 fine for letting the man run it on his own.
These details have been revealed at a Reading Borough Council meeting after its licensing officers requested a review of the licence to sell alcohol at the premises.
The man was staying at Mr Singh Arora’s home in Hayes when his wife suffered an asthma attack at around 5am on Wednesday, March 11.
Mr Singh Arora asked the man to open Reading Express in his absence while he attended a hospital in Hayes with his wife.
Later that day, council licensing officers and Home Office immigration enforcers found the man working at the store and he was escorted outside.
Mr Singh Arora was represented by licensing experts Maninder Kaur and Surendra Panchal during the hearing.
They argued that the man was appointed at the last minute to open up the shop due to the medical emergency.
Mr Singh Arora said: “I made a mistake; it was the biggest mistake in my whole life.”
The two men met in Afghanistan before coming to the UK.
Mr Singh Arora is an Afghan national with legal status in this country.
Mr Panchal said: “He has raised his hands up and said, I’m sorry it happened ‘.”
He also said that Reading Express is compliant with conditions on the licence.
While council licensing officer Robert Smalley did not overtly accuse the other party of lying, he suggested that he did not believe their account of events.
He said: “Immigration enforcement by the Home Office is intelligence-based.
They don’t do opportunistic visits. It’s unlikely that it just happened to be this way.
“I find it hard to believe. This is a copy-and-paste case argument businesses use, that it’s always the first time or it’s work experience, but he [the Afghan man] had the trust of the owner to run the premises.
“It’s unlikely that this is the first instance, it’s more likely an act done because the owner saw a profit or loss of profit.”
It was initially understood that Mr Singh Arora appointed the man while they were both at the store.
However, it was made clear that the man was dispatched before the working day had begun.
Councillor Micky Leng (Labour, Whitley) said: “I was under the impression you were there then left. But you were never at the shop on that day.
“It wasn’t a spur of the moment decision to let him take over.”
Expressing sympathy, cllr Paul Woodward (Labour, Church) said: “An asthma can very frightening. I hope she makes progress in her recovery.”
But ultimately, the licensing applications sub-committee felt the decision to open on that day was wrong.
They decided to revoke the licence at the meeting on Thursday, June 11.
It means Mr Singh Arora is no longer allowed to sell alcohol from the store.
The decision was made by councillors Woodward, Leng and Louise Keane (Green, Katesgrove).
Mr Panchal said he felt the decision was unfair, and that Mr Singh Arora is considering an appeal.
