"Police have raided a building that was occupied by squatters in protest at the sell-off of public housing. About 10 people had been staying in the former council-owned property "in shifts" before officers used a battering ram to smash the front door. A man and a woman were arrested and taken away in a riot van. Another man was bundled to the pavement but later released without charge. A sergeant at the scene said the pair were held on suspicion of breaking the Legal Aid, Sentencing and Punishment of Offenders Act 2012, which criminalises squatting in a residential building. The released man, who gave his name as Harris Fletcher, 23, said: "We’re here to protest about the sell-off of council housing. We came to support the people inside after hearing the police were illegally threatening to break in." The property in Southampton Road, Belsize Park, includes a former party shop and flats above. Neighbours said it had been empty and had fallen into disrepair. Camden council sold it at auction for £860,000. Two others nearby fetched £1.52 million."
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