posted April 13, 2010 10:20 AM         

wonder what anyone else thinks of the below sitch:
http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk/2009/jan/28/london-squatters-mayfair-mansion

Mayfair squatters ordered to leave London mansionAre squatters resourceful individuals or 'scroungers' who bend the law?
(3)Tweet this (1)Comments (10) They call themselves the Temporary School of Thought and describe themselves as artists running workshops "of mutual learning, leftwing bias and free lectures".

They're also squatters occupying a Grade II listed, £22.5m central London mansion and, during the course of today, bailiffs are due to evict them.

They moved into the property, which consists of two linked buildings in swanky Mayfair, one in Charles Street and one in Clarges Mews, last November. The owners, Timekeeper Limited, were not amused, and were granted a county court order for immediate possession yesterday.

In a blog posted yesterday, one of the squatters, calling himself luckyjim, says the group accept they must move on and have started packing their bags. He justifies their actions by saying they've added "value" by occupying the building.

He writes: "We've turned a private space into a public one, bringing a long-dead building back to life whilst respecting its heritage.

"We've introduced a free community space to an area which didn't have one, inviting in and seeking the respect of the neighbourhood.

"We've made people think about communal living and alternatives to wage slavery by showing them it's possible to live off the city's discards."

Luckyjim says the group has provided "something positive to several hundred people, against an imperceptibly small inconvenience caused to a super-wealthy few".

He adds that the group has not damaged the property, nor are any of its members dependent on state benefits.

It's a different image from the one protrayed in the Sun, which described squatters who moved into a building in nearby Park Lane as "scroungers" and "loafers".

The paper said: "The 20 crusties, some of whom sneaked in through an open basement door, are living rent-free yards from Madonna's luxury pad.

"They spend their time strumming guitars while letting three huge dogs foul the rooms."

As the paper points squatting is not illegal, but breaking in or causing damage is.

Are squatters resourceful individuals who are making legitimate use of otherwise neglected properties, or are they "scroungers" who destroy the properties they move into and are bending, if not breaking, the law?