Thread: Foreign squatters given legal aid to fight eviction from £1

Foreign squatters given legal aid to fight eviction from £1million house... as its British owner has to represent himself in court

By Ryan Kisiel
Last updated at 12:03 PM on 22nd February 2011
Comments 550


Intruder: One of the 12 foreign squatters who have taken over a £1m townhouse in London

Squatters who broke into and occupied a £1million house have been given hundreds of pounds of taxpayers’ money in legal aid to fight eviction.

The intruders from France, Spain and Poland have been living in the three-storey five-bedroom townhouse for a month.

Meanwhile, owner John Hamilton-Brown has been forced to rent a two-bedroom flat for his family while he battles to get the gang out of the house.

Neighbours said the property had just been sold when the 12 squatters broke in during the early hours of the morning after a window was forced open.

Since then there has been more damage and endless parties – several of which have culminated in the police being called.

Yesterday, some of the squatters danced, waved flags, sang and played the guitar outside the property. They also bragged about how easy Britain’s laws were in allowing them to take over homes.

A French man who called himself Jean-Claude, said: ‘I came to England seven years ago because this is where the love is.

'We will speak to other people from all over the world to come here and live because it is so easy. Why can’t we live anywhere we want?’

A French girl with blonde dreadlocked hair added: ‘I love it here. We move around where we want and share our love. You should see the views in there – it’s amazing.’

Mr Hamilton-Brown, 36, applied to the county court last week to seek an interim possession order to enable him to claim the house back.

He did not hire a solicitor because of the expense.

But when he arrived at Clerkenwell and Shoreditch County Court, in East London, he was amazed to find that two of the squatters had been granted legal aid and were represented by a duty solicitor.

Because they were EU citizens and unemployed, they qualified for free legal representation.

Mr Hamilton-Brown had already been to the court four times since his home was invaded on January 21.

At Thursday’s hearing, he was not granted the interim order that would have let him remove the squatters within 24 hours because of a legal technicality.

He was granted a possession order – meaning he will now have to wait up to six weeks for a warrant that will allow bailiffs to remove them.


Take-over: The property in Archway, north London. Because the squatters are EU citizens and unemployed, they qualify for free legal representation

‘I was horrified they were given legal representation,’ Mr Hamilton-Brown said. ‘As I work and pay taxes, I’m at a disadvantage.

‘I’ve saved up for ten years to move into this house and this is what I get. It’s remarkable that they can get away with this.’

Mr Hamilton-Brown, a married father of two young daughters who is a director of a financial services company, added that neighbours had indicated that a lot of damage had been done to the property.

The house in Archway, North London, is near the homes of actress Patsy Kensit and comedian Rob Brydon.

A legal notice put in the front window by the squatters states that anybody who enters without their permission could face six months in jail and a £5,000 fine.

A neighbour said: ‘They have more rights than we do.

‘They know what they’re doing on the legal side of things as they’ve been in houses before in the area.’

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article ... ction.html

Immigration fears of the young as almost three-quarters say it is a problem

By Jack Doyle
Last updated at 3:10 AM on 22nd February 2011
Comments 78


Teenagers are more worried about immigration than ever before amid dire job news for their age group and beliefs that jobs are going to foreign workers

Fears over immigration have increased among young people – amid dire jobs news for their age group.

More than 70 per cent of those in their late teens and early 20s now say immigration is a problem, according to pollsters Ipsos MORI.

That figure has risen by 10 per cent over the 12 months that saw unemployment among the young approach one million.

For the first time, people in the 16-24 age group are now more worried about migrant numbers than those in their 30s, the poll showed.

Last week it was revealed 965,000 young people are out of work and hundreds of thousands have never worked. One in five 16-24 year-olds is jobless and looking for work.

The poll found almost half of youngsters believe immigration into Britain will damage the economic recovery by taking jobs away from those already here.

Ben Page, chief executive of Ipsos MORI, said: ‘The research shows strong support for tougher immigration policies, and high levels of concern.

‘Concern among young people about immigration has also increased and that could be attributed to the high levels of youth unemployment.’

Across the country, three quarters of Britons say immigration is a problem. Almost two thirds – 65 per cent – want tougher controls on those coming into the country.

More than half (57 per cent) support the Government’s immigration cap on non-EU migrant workers, and just 15 per cent are opposed.

More...3million migrants came to UK under Labour in biggest population growth in 1,000 years

Some 68 per cent of 25-39 year-olds said immigration was a big problem, compared to three quarters of those aged 40-64 and 86 per cent of those aged 65 and over.

The poll of more than 1,000 Britons revealed varying reasons for concerns. More than four out of ten people were worried about the burden on public services.


Many youngsters believe that migrants are taking jobs away from British workers and this will in turn damage the economic recovery
Nearly one in three highlighted job fears and a quarter pointed to a general failure in recent years to control migrant numbers.

Last week ministers laid out details of the new cap on non-EU workers, which comes into force from April 6. It will restrict to 21,700 the number allowed in each year.

Ministers hope the changes, with a clampdown on bogus students, will help cut net migration levels from more than 200,000-a-year now to ‘tens of thousands’ by 2015.

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article ... oblem.html

Schoolboy who posed as homeless orphan facing death if he was deported is exposed as a fraudBy Luke Salkeld

Last updated at 10:44 PM on 21st February 2011
Comments 183


Schoolboy Ahmer Rana, who posed as a homeless orphan facing death if he was deported from Britain

When he arrived in the UK from Pakistan, the story of Ahmer Rana – 15, orphaned, homeless and in fear of his life – touched the hearts of those he met.

The teenager found himself with foster parents, a school place and a petition signed by 4,000 supporters – including his local MP – asking the Home Office not to deport him.

But he now has a lot of explaining to do to the people of his adopted home in Carmarthen, south-west Wales, after his story was exposed as a tissue of lies.

His name is actually Daniyal Shahzad, he is a year older than he claimed to be, and his parents, far from being killed, are both alive and well. The UK Border Agency uncovered the lies and has rejected his plea to stay in the Britain.

Mr Shahzad has admitted that he came to Britain to send cash home to his family.

He said: ‘I would like to say sorry to my friends in school who have supported me. I have let everyone down. I think I’m the same person that they know – I haven’t changed. I hope they’ll forgive me. If I could go back I would change everything. I would tell the truth.’

Mr Shahzad has been living in Wales since 2008, when he moved in with foster parents John and Lesley Hillard and began attending Queen Elizabeth High School.

He pretended his birthday was on Christmas Day and that he would be forced to leave last December when he turned 18. So two days before Christmas his supporters travelled to London to present a petition to the Home Office calling for him not to be deported.

Mr Shahzad claimed the whole saga began with ‘one small lie to the Home Office and snowballed out of control’ and that he had lived in fear of discovery. He said: ‘The true reason I came here was to earn money to send back to my family.


The Facebook page set up to petition for 'Ahmer' to remain in Britain attracted hundreds of supporters

Mr Shahzad added that he felt relieved that the truth was finally out but said he was ‘scared’ at facing his friends.

He still wants to stay in Britain - and hopes his supporters will help him still fight deportation.

His foster parents said they had been left ‘absolutely shocked’ by the revelations.

Mr Hillard said: ‘We are standing by him. He’s our foster son and that hasn’t changed. He’s still a smashing lad.’ Mrs Hillard said: ‘I’m disappointed that he hadn’t felt able to tell them the truth. While he’s under my roof I would walk on hot coals for him. My job is to look after him, care for him and support him.’

Jonathan Edwards, Plaid Cymru MP for Carmarthen East, had given his backing to Mr Shahzad.

He said: ‘It would of course have been better for Ahmer to have been truthful from the start. But clearly he has been under tremendous pressure to provide for his family from an extremely young age which has undoubtedly put him in the position he is in.’

A UK Border Agency spokesman said: ‘The UK Border Agency has fully considered Mr Rana’s case and in an appeal hearing where his evidence was tested, a judge upheld our decision that he does not need the UK’s protection.’

‘The judge found elements of Mr Rana’s case were inconsistent and that he failed to show that he faces persecution in Pakistan.’

Mr Shahzad is still in Wales, and is understood to be awaiting the outcome of a second appeal.

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article ... orted.html

Don't you just love how any country who has anything what's soever going on, have to just give it up to illegals, jobs, homes, food, and anything else worth a damn thing.

"I've done many roofs like this one, but much, much bigger!"
I haven't got to do one in nearly 6yrs! Americans should not have to suffer illegals from anywhere for any reason!