Group of four say they have made peace with arrest after claiming property for Ukrainian refugees
By Diane Taylor, March 14, 2022
Four squatters who have been surrounded by police on the balcony of a central London mansion owned by the oligarch Oleg Deripaska say they have “made their peace with getting arrested”.
The squatters broke into the property in Belgrave Square at about 1am on Monday and declared that it “belongs to Ukrainian refugees”.
The four men, who initially told reporters there were five of them, were sitting on the edge of the balcony, surrounded by police inside and outside the building. The street was cordoned off and at least 10 police vehicles and dozens of officers were on the scene.
Officers wearing harnesses first tried to deploy a ladder to access the balcony but after the squatters sat in the way to obstruct them, a JCB crane was moved in to lift the officers up instead.
