A luxurious London pub and boutique hotel owned by celebrity British chef Gordon Ramsay has been taken over by a gang of squatters who are threatening legal action if an effort is made to remove them, according to reports that place the value of the property at 13 million pounds sterling (About $16.2 million.)
Excerpt from the UK Sun report:
The gang, said to be made up of at least six “professional squatters”, used Ramsay’s own kitchen appliances to barricade themselves in and have glued shut the locks.
Photos show the swanky bar area of the venue — which had been temporarily closed for a handover — resembling a tip, with debris sprawled everywhere and a squatter crashed out on a leather sofa.
Ramsay, 57, was about to sign over a multi-million pound lease to new partners when the gang broke in to the York & Albany pub and boutique hotel near Regent’s Park, central London.
The TV chef — who was embroiled in a legal battle over the venue back in 2015 — called the police last Wednesday but has been unable to remove the squatters from the 19th-century building.
SNIP
They have also slapped a legal notice on the front door, saying they are entitled to stay there as it “is a non-residential building”.
They claim that the law which prevents squatting is not applicable because it “was NOT designed or adapted, before the time of our entry, for use as a place to live”.
Incredibly, they then threaten legal action, suggesting that if anyone tries to enter “by violence” they could end up in jail for six months.
They warn: “Take notice that we occupy this property and at all times there is at least one person in occupation.
“That any entry or attempt to enter into these premises without our permission is therefore a criminal offence as any one of us who is in physical possession is opposed to such entry without our permission.
“That if you attempt to enter by violence or by threatening violence we will prosecute you.
“You may receive a sentence of up to six months’ imprisonment and/or a fine of up to £5,000.”
The note, signed by “The Occupiers”, also warns: “If you want to get us out you will have to issue a claim for possession in the County Court or in the High Court.”