The incident draws attention to London?s growing number of empty, foreign-owned buildings as well as the city?s rising rates of homelessness On January 23, a group of anarchist squatters climbed through the window of an empty mansion in London?s Eaton Square and decided to stay. The group, which calls themselves the Autonomous Nation of Anarchist Libertarians (ANAL), felt that the five-story, 15,000-square-foot home would be a welcome change of scene for the city?s homeless population, and set about inviting local street sleepers to live there.
?It is criminal that there are so many homeless people and at the same time so many empty buildings,? said Tom Fox, one of the squatters, in an interview with The Guardian. ?Our occupation is highlighting this injustice.? Last Wednesday, police evicted 42 activists and homeless people after a judge ordered the group to leave.

Homes for all #homesforthehomeless #shelter #homesforall #squattop #squatters #cause #belgravia #102 #eatonsquare #sw1 #london A photo posted by Ragpickers (@ragpickersldn) on Feb 3, 2017 at 5:11am PST

Waves of foreign investment in U.K. real estate have driven up property costs while leaving homes unoccupied. A new government study found that some 200,000 houses in England have remained empty for more than six months. At the same time, England?s homeless population in 2016 had increased by 16 percent over the previous year.
The gorgeous $18.7 million Eaton Square property that ANAL appropriated...