All about the money! 20 anti-capitalist squatters drape banner over the iconic former Royal MINT in London and force police to negotiate through a cracked window
- Squatters are protesting about UK's 'unacceptable' homelessness problem
- Four groups occupy the building and they will only leave under court order
- Posters put up and 'anticapitalista' banner has been draped over building
- Protesters warned building may be unsafe to live in due to asbestos levels
A group of 20 anti-capitalist squatters have taken over the former Royal Mint Building in protest over Britain's homelessness problem.
The squatters, wearing V for Vendetta masks and hanging out of windows, have set up camp in the grade II-listed Johnson Smirke building, in the City of London, and are refusing to leave.
They claim they will only be turfed out when the owners of the building arrive with a High Court order.
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Message: The squatters, pictured, are protesting because of the 'unacceptable' housing crisis in Britain
Communication: Officers, pictured, have been forced to speak to the protesters through a cracked window
Some of the protesters have taken to the roof of the building while others have draped banners with messages such as ‘anticapitalista’, as well as adorning the walls with 'End World Debt' posters.
Police are believed to be aware of the problem at the complex, once home to the Barclays Bank Executive Board, but the squatters say they will use the opportunity to raise awareness about the country's lack of homes.
Pete Phoenix, 45, from Camden Mothership, one of four organisations occupying the building, said: 'There are 104,000 homeless children in this country which is completely unacceptable when there are 1.5 million empty buildings in the UK.
'We want an end to homelessness - we want these buildings to be used. Ordinary Londoners are now being priced out of London. Even people on good wages are unable to buy.
'We want everyone to have a home and we want to raise awareness.
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'There are hundreds of thousands of homeless people and massive empty buildings like this could home 500 or 1000 people.
'Manchester and Bristol Councils have already opened up some of their empty buildings.'
Also among the throng, was a former soldier and Iraq War veteran, who would only be named as Ian.
He said: 'I am 35 years old and I was in the army since I was 16.
'I was medically discharged at 27 for bad hearing and I have lived on the streets ever since.
'This time I have had enough. I don't want to be homeless anymore.
'The Government are either going to have to house people or, by the summer, I will be marching up to the Queen's house to make her listen.'
Royal Mint Court has five buildings spread across five acres including Burgess House which the squatters entered.
On the roof: Pictured, the squatters have scaled to the top of the building to make their voices heard
Angry: One man, named Ian, threatened to march on Buckingham Palace if nothing was done to improve the housing crisis in Britain. Pictured, protesters hold up a placard as they stand on a balcony at Royal Mint Court
Several of the group, who claimed they had been unlawfully evicted by a private security firm, were outside the gates of the Court.
Arthur Meluish, 31, said he was in another of the buildings, The Registry, when a security company entered illegally.
He said: 'They came and said 'This is a common law eviction. You are trespassers.'
'They threw me up against a closed door and then manhandled me out.
'I had been in there for 48 hours, there was a notice on the door saying I intended to make it my home.
'This is a symbolic choice of building against capitalism and the problems it causes.
'For it to be empty for four years is a crime against people who live on the streets.'
Dangers: CBRE has warned the squatters, pictured, that due to asbestos the building may be unsafe to live in
The squatters are not without their supporters and representatives from ReSpace - who run The Hive in Dalston - were seen outside the Royal Mint Court's gates.
Gee Sinha, 43, said: 'It would be wrong to think that there isn't the resources and facilities, talent and skills out there in the community to be able to do this and make it work.
'It can be turned it into a usable function for some social good, whether it's homelessness or other problems caused by capitalism.
'You can't fix problems when the people who cause the problems control all of the space.'
The Johnson Smirke building is no longer used by the Royal Mint following its re-location to Lombard Street in January 2000. However, it has been earmarked for redevelopment as a business complex.
It has been revealed that there are also concerns about how safe the building currently is to live in.
Estate agents CBRE delivered a letter to the squatters to warn them the quality of the water available had not been tested for some time and that there was also the risk of the building having traces of asbestos.
Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-3377977/Group-20-anti-capitalist-squatters-former-Royal-Mint-Building-London.html#ixzz3vv9iLt8d
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