A group of squatters have taken over Gordon Ramsay’s £13million pub, threatening legal action against those who try to force them to leave.
At least six people have locked themselves inside the York and Albany hotel and gastropub in London, boarding up the windows and taping up a “legal warning” to the door.
The warning on the outside of the Grade-II listed building said the group had a right to occupy the pub, which they said was not a “residential building” and was therefore not subject to 2012 legislation in England and Wales that made squatting in a residential building a criminal offence.
It read: “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.
“That 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.”
Two accounts on Instagram called the Camden Art Cafe and Autonomous Winter Shelter have posted about a “new squatted community space” at the pub.
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“We are occupying this property under squatting law which is our right in this country,” Camden Art Cafe told The Telegraph.
“We run a free cafe for the community on Tuesdays and Thursdays although we hope to open more frequently.”
“This is a civil matter between the occupiers and the landowner who we understand has also refused to comment on the matter... People will be welcomed again into our cafe on Tuesday, that is all.”
Ramsay contacted the Metropolitan Police on Wednesday but was unable to have the squatters removed from the gastropub near Regent’s Park.
The force said in a statement on April 10: “This is a civil matter and so police did not attend the property.”
Photos snapped of the interior of the property showed debris everywhere, with a squatter sleeping on a sofa in the bar.
The Hell’s Kitchen host had been due to sign over a multi-million-pound lease to new owners before the squatters took over.
Ramsay leased the building for 25 years from Film director Gary Love – who bought the 19 century building in 2007 - with an annual rent of £640,000.
The Kitchen Nightmares star unsuccessfully tried to free himself from the lease in a legal battle at the high court in 2015.
Per Government guidance, squatters can apply to become the registered owners of a property if they have continuously occupied it for 10 years, acted as owners for the entire duration of time and had not previously been permitted to live there by the owner.
