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DEVASTATION WROUGHT BY CRIMINAL GANGS SQUATTING IN LONDON EXPOSED IN NEW REPORT

  • Writer: City Hall Conservatives
    City Hall Conservatives
  • 2 hours ago
  • 2 min read

Emma Best AM, Deputy Leader of the City Hall Conservatives, with support from Sir Iain Duncan Smith MP, has today launched a report examining the scourge of criminal gangs squatting, which exposes the extent to which the state has lost control over the issue - and how solid data on squatting is not even recorded by authorities. 


The report, out today, came about as a result of a harrowing case in Chingford, North London, where a pensioner returned home from visiting her friend to discover a gang of almost 25 criminals had moved into her home illegally. Police were called, but the gang claimed to have a tenancy agreement - and thus were only removed from the property two months after the initial break-in, causing unending misery to the homeowner in question. 


Before they were removed, the squatters carried out horrendous damage to the property and neighbourhood, including:

  • Destroying possessions belonging to the owner’s deceased husband

  • Children urinating on neighbours’ walls

  • Antisocial behaviour

  • Theft from local shops


This tragic case was raised to the Mayor and the Police Commissioner in Spring 2025 by Emma Best AM, and Iain Duncan Smith MP alerted the Home Office at a similar time. Since then, despite this being a growing phenomenon, no further action has been taken. 


With the Mayor, Met, and Government failing to act, this report recommends:

  • The Police be given access to the Private Rented Sector database established by the new Renter Rights Act 2025, so that the police can verify tenancies and crack down on fraudulent ones used by squatters,

  • The Mayor direct the Met to improve and increase training around illegal squatting, handling it, and responding to residential cases to minimise incidents of cases such as that seen in Chingford,

  • Better data recording and audits by the Police and Councils be carried out to identify the extent and scale of squatting as well as properties which may be particularly vulnerable to incidents,

  • There should be established a London-wide data set of squatting - including outcomes and actions taken - to improve transparency and accountability in the pursuit of tackling this crime. 


Emma Best AM said:

“The case we saw in Chingford was sickening and sadly not isolated. Criminal gangs, often without legal status to be in Britain, are exploiting what they perceive to be a loophole in the law. This has been widespread - there have been numerous cases in London where gangs have stolen people’s properties and life-long belongings from under their noses. By failing to take criminal squatting seriously, authorities are neglecting their duty to the public, and creating an unsafe environment in which criminals can thrive. This has to change.”


Iain Duncan Smith MP said:

“I am pleased to support the common-sense and practical recommendations in this report. It is very clear on the need for the Government to take action and the clear, sensible way forward for the police and other authorities. Londoners deserve better from those responsible for keeping them safe against crimes such as this. It is time to close the loopholes in the law, strengthen police enforcement, and ensure that cases like the one we saw in Chingford are a thing of the past, rather than a fear for the future.”



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