Many people have different opinions on squatting and some of you may have read about it in the Guardian newspaper. We at PainSmith would like to follow the rest (in a sheep like fashion-we ain’t proud) and add our name to those advocates objecting to Mr Weatherley’s comments.
Mr Weatherley, we look forward to the official retraction.
In the meantime if readers want to read more please click here for the nearly legal blog.
I thoroughly agree with Mr. Weatherley’s right to free speech. I also agree with most of his comments. Having suffered squatters and the police attitude I think they should be criminalised immediately. It cost a London borough council several million pounds when squatters claimed ownership of a building. This is the most ludicrous law paramount to theft and it is tax payers’ money.
Please do not apologise Mr. Weatherley.
Breaking and entering or refusing to leave when tenants or residential homeowners ask squatters to is a criminal offence and the police does very little to help so why is it assumed that further legislation is required? What actually needs to be done is for people to understand the law and to enforce it with or without lawyers. Mr Weatherley has every right to free speech but he seeks to deny it to the lawyers, which quite frankly is ludicrous coming from a politician. Parroting what others say to get into the papers is not what I expect of a member of parliament.
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