The High Court today made an order evicting squatters from the former Burberry headquarters in London’s Piccadilly.
Morgan J made a possession order in favour of Alan Sugar’s Amsprop Investments and Dover Street Market International, which feared that the vacant Grade II listed property on Haymarket would be used by activists as a “hub” for this weekend’s anti-austerity protest in London.
Katherine Holland QC said that her clients, who are carrying out a multi-million pound development at the property, fear the squatters are connected to campaign group Occupied, who are involved in Saturday’s march, and are concerned about the risk of damage to the premises, “escalating every hour”.
Two of the squatters appeared in court, claiming they are a loose community of homeless people looking for somewhere to live, not connected to the protesters.
They fought the possession moves, seeking to rely on Article 8 of the European Convention of Human Rights in order to stay in their “home”, which they entered on the evening of 17 June.
However, the judge found that Article 8 had no application in this case, that the occupiers are trespassers and they had no available defence to the possession proceedings.
He said that he had been shown an extract from a blog from an organisation known as Phoenix Rising referring to the building stating: “We need to hold it until Saturday for the End Austerity march.”
While he said it was possible that different occupiers of the building may have different agendas, he said: “It is clear enough that there are some individuals who would wish to link the occupation of this property with the march schedules to take place tomorrow. The potential for this building to find itself having connections with the march and being used as a hub, as the police would have it, exists.”
Earlier in the hearing, he said that the occupiers before him were young men, and he did not want to act like a“nanny” by seeking to act for their protection, or be seen by the defendants as one of those High Court judges who are viewed as “old fuddy-duddies”.
The possession order in respect of the premises at 18-22 Haymarket and 3-5 Orange Street, London SW1, will take immediate effect.
