Marco Pierre White's former restaurant in central London was taken over by as many as 400 squatters on Monday, according to reports.
The celebrity chef, 62, opened the steak and pizza restaurant in Leicester Square in 2021, but closed it earlier this year after which it remained unoccupied. However, recent photos show the venue covered in padlocks after hordes of squatters are said to have moved in.
The manager of the Filipino fast-food restaurant next door to the restaurant claimed that up to 400 people had been living in the building, which boasts one of the capital's most prestigious post codes.
Marco Pierre White's former restaurant was reportedly taken over by squatters last week (Getty Images)Ellen Leyco, manager of Jollibee, said: "The council regularly visits us. When they were here last week I told them they need to look into Mr White's because it is causing us some trouble. The council came back today and told me I was correct as they found 400 people there. They said they were occupying all the floors and they were illegal. Many are homeless and they are leaving a mess out the back," reports The Telegraph.
The Met Police is now said to have secured the five-storey building, with a spokesperson for Westminster Council telling the Mirror that the premises "has now been secured by the Met Police". The Mirror has also contacted the Met Police and Marco Pierre White's agency for comment.
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Padlocks could be seen on the doors (Jeremy Selwyn)The reports come after celebrity chef Gordon Ramsay issued squatters with legal papers after a gang took over and ruined one of his London pubs which cost a staggering £13 million. The father-of-five acted after a gang of squatters moved into his swish watering hole in London.
York & Albany, Gordon's pub in Camden, was taken over by The Camden Art Cafe in what they claimed was a legal occupation of the building. However, the group, consisting of at least six "professional squatters" used kitchen appliances owned by Ramsay to barricade the doors as well as gluing the locks to prevent people gaining access to the building.
Now, new legal papers served to the group are forcing them to "cancel" the soup kitchen they are reportedly running from the premises.
Marco opened the restaurant in 2021 (Jeremy Selwyn)Taking to Instagram in view of their 843 followers, the group shared a snap on their Stories reading: "Apologies to everyone who was going to come along today. Papers served, café cancelled!" An update just one day prior to this read: "We are occupying the York and Albany Hotel in Camden as the collective Camden Art Café. We aim to open our doors regularly to anyone and everyone, particularly the people of Camden who have been victims of gentrification and parasitic projects like HS2."
Gordon has been unable to remove the squatters from the building and has been entangled in a legal battle with them since 2015. A notice on the door claimed the group were able to occupy the property as it was not a "residential building" and was not subject to the 2012 ruling which stated it would be an offence to squat in a residential building.
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