Squatters occupying £17 million house near Buckingham Palace evicted in 'stealth' operation

Saphora Smith25 February 2017

Squatters occupying a £17 million property metres away from Buckingham Palace have been evicted in an early morning "stealth mode" operation.

The dozen or so activists had been branded a possible risk to the Queen's security for occupying the seven-storey property on Buckingham Gate, in the shadow of the monarch's residence.

Eviction efforts took place at around 4am on Saturday after the building's owners filed a submission to the High Court.

The once-lavish property, which neighbours the Swaziland High Commission, had been rebranded by the squatters as the Rogue Embassy.

Squatters enter the £17m mansion
PA

Daniel, one of the 30 campaigners who had been occupying the building for around four days, said more than 60 bailiffs executed the eviction.

The 37-year-old said: "It was pretty unprecedented. To just wake up and you are surrounded by bailiffs, they came in in stealth mode.

"I opened my eyes to bailiffs on the staircase."

A squatter moves out of their previous residence in Belgrave Place (Yui Mok/PA )
Yui Mok/PA

He described it as a "swift and silent eviction", adding: "I didn't see them [the bailiffs] turn on the lights until I was outside at the door."

With numerous evictions under his belt, having occupied properties for more than six years, Daniel said he had never seen one executed so quietly and with that number of bailiffs.

It is the third high-profile building the band of squatters, who claim to be part of the Autonomous Nation of Anarchist Libertarians, have entered this year.

They were evicted from a multimillion-pound property in Eaton Square, central London last month, before immediately moving into a nearby seven-storey building on Grosvenor Gardens.

Quizzed on whether they will move into another property in the Buckingham Palace area, Daniel said: "We have to stay in the area... it would be nice to continue with it."

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