Pubs, bars and clubs that have signed up for a scheme designed to protect customers who are in fear for their safety are not implementing it, a BBC undercover investigation has found.

The Ask for Angela initiative, a not-for-profit project in place at thousands of venues nationwide, aims to provide a discreet lifeline for people who believe they are in danger.

Those with such fears are advised to use the code word “Angela”, to indicate to staff they are in need of help.

But secret filming by BBC researchers found that in half of the London venues they visited, including major chains, staff failed to respond to the code word. The BBC received similar reports from across the UK.

It comes as more councils make participation in the scheme key to granting alcohol licences.

Our investigation found staff at large chains including Greene King, JD Wetherspoon and Simmons were among those who did not recognise the code word.

Greene King said it was concerned about the BBC’s findings and pledged to review how the Ask for Angela scheme was communicated to its teams. JD Wetherspoon said it had successfully dealt with many examples of distressed women using the scheme but would provide additional training if necessary. There was no response from Simmons.

The Ask for Angela initiative, which is aimed mainly at women but can be used by anyone feeling unsafe at a participating establishment, has spread from the UK to countries around the world, including Canada and the Netherlands, and operates in thousands of locations. The scheme is named after Angela Crompton, who was murdered by her husband.

Staff receive special training to recognise the word Angela as a signal someone needs help.

Upon hearing the code word, employees are meant to discreetly intervene, helping the person get to safety by reuniting them with friends, calling a taxi, or contacting the police if necessary.

Venues often prominently advertise their participation in Ask for Angela, putting posters and stickers throughout their premises, particularly in women’s toilets, and also advertise online to say they are a safe haven.

Some people say they actively seek out these establishments when arranging dates or nights out, viewing the scheme as a safety net after undergoing traumatic experiences in the past.

One woman, who the BBC is naming only as “Kay”, explained how she had arranged to meet a man for the first time after connecting on a dating app, but the encounter turned into a nightmare.

“It was fine at first,” she told the BBC. “But then the night just kept getting worse and worse.”

Within minutes of sitting down together, her date began touching her inappropriately. “He started playing with my hand, and I just froze,” she recounted, visibly upset. “I pulled my hand back. I put it behind my neck. And he just kept saying, ‘give me your hand, give me your hand’.”

As she tried to leave, his behaviour worsened. “We got up and then he grabbed me by my waist. And he slid his hand all the way down. I was scared and also just a bit shocked at what’s happening because I’m like, ‘leave me alone’.”

Kay did not know about the Ask for Angela scheme but thinks that, implemented properly, it could have helped, and says she now seeks out venues that operate it.

Following tip-offs from women and from bar staff concerned about the scheme’s implementation, BBC researchers posed as a couple on a date to test venues that actively promoted their involvement.

While most of the approaches were made by a female researcher, in a couple of instances a male researcher made a request for help, as the scheme applies to anyone feeling unsafe.

At one establishment, our undercover female researcher approached the bar, as if on distress on a date, and asked: “Is there anyone called Angela working?”

“Who?” came the confused response.

“Angela.”

“Er, no.”

“Are you sure?”

“Positive.”

At another participating venue, which the BBC is naming, the White Bear in Hounslow in west London, a man who identified himself as the manager was unaware of the scheme.

He told our researcher: “Nobody called Angela here… 100%, I’m the manager – I know my staff.” When pressed further, he added: “Not in the last four years that I’ve been here.”

The White Bear did not answer our questions but told us that he was not working there any more and that any “insights” from the BBC’s interaction with him were “outdated and misrepresentative”.

These were not isolated incidents – 13 of the 25 venues we visited failed to respond appropriately to the Angela code word.

One of the venues that did demonstrate how the scheme should operate was Hootananny in Brixton, south London. When a female researcher asked for Angela and said she felt uncomfortable, the response was immediate.

“Is everything alright?” the bartender asked without hesitation, before signalling to the manager. Within seconds, our researcher was led to a safe space and was asked: “Is there anything we can help with, or anything you want to talk to us about?”

Similarly, at the White Hart in Drury Lane, central London, staff activated their response protocol when our researcher asked for Angela. The manager, Kristoff, led her outside and even arranged a safe haven at a nearby pub.

“We’re going to keep him inside,” Kristoff told our researcher. “Go to this pub on the right-hand side… Ask for Neville. He’s a friend of mine, he’s the manager over there… Stay over there for half an hour and if you want to come back, come back – we’re going to make sure he’s gone.”

At least £900,000 of public money has been spent promoting and implementing Ask for Angela across England and Wales, the BBC has found.

The biggest investment is in London, with £324,000 from the Mayor’s Women’s Night Safety Charter Fund and £32,000 from the Metropolitan Police.

Outside the capital, Knowsley Council in Merseyside invested £90,000, Colchester City Council received £77,800 from the Home Office’s Safer Streets Fund, and the West Yorkshire Combined Authority allocated £71,000. Sussex Police was awarded £296,363 from the same Home Office fund, with a portion dedicated to Ask for Angela.

The scheme is increasingly becoming embedded in official licensing policies across England and Wales.

Westminster City Council, which has the most licensed venues of any local council in the country, includes the operation of Ask for Angela as a consideration in granting licences to sell alcohol, as do Camden Council and Manchester City Council.

Dozens of other councils including Tower Hamlets, Cannock Chase, North West Leicestershire, Kirklees, Torbay, Haringey, and Havant either require or strongly encourage venues to implement the scheme as part of their licensing conditions.

The BBC’s investigation suggests the findings from London might be indicative of wider problems across the country.

Women’s safety campaigners and bar staff in Oxford, parts of the West Midlands, Manchester, Coventry, Kent and Brighton all reported concerns to the BBC about inconsistent implementation and staff training, while women’s safety organisations in Cornwall, Sheffield and Devon said the scheme had failed to be adopted by many venues there.

Women’s safety campaigners are calling for the Ask for Angela scheme to become mandatory, with proper enforcement. Jamie Klingler from Reclaim These Streets warns: “Women take a lot of risks to go out – a lot of the time for online dates or for meeting someone you don’t know. And a lot of people check in advance to see.

“And if Ask for Angela is at a bar you’re like, ‘OK, they’ll have my back.’

“To work out it’s a figment of imagination is really horrific. We’re already telling our friends where we are; track us, have us track our phones.

“To find out [the flaws in the Ask for Angela scheme], it’s more than disappointing – it’s putting women at risk.”

Sylvia Oates, director of Ask for Angela, said what the BBC had discovered was concerning.

“It’s disappointing to hear that only around half of the venues were able to respond appropriately… if somebody’s asking for Angela, they clearly need help. And if they don’t get the help that they expect, then the scheme is not working.”

She said high staff turnover in the hospitality industry could make consistent training challenging, but added this was no excuse.

“It’s a real concern that premises have got the poster up and then if somebody asks for Angela, it’s not successful,” Ms Oates said, adding that venues advertising their involvement in the scheme had a responsibility to make sure staff were trained to respond.

She is calling for stronger measures to ensure compliance.

“I believe that where a venue advertises that they operate Ask for Angela, then there should be some kind of fine or repercussion if they haven’t trained all their staff.”

Ms Oates said there needed to be a “strong deterrent” for businesses that did not train staff properly, adding that “it’s just not acceptable that people would go to a venue expecting to get help and not get the help that they need”.

She told the BBC she would be meeting MPs to discuss ways to strengthen the scheme, potentially by making participation a mandatory condition for venues with alcohol licences.

Additional reporting by Laurence Cawley

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