Marco Pierre White’s West End restaurant taken over by squatters who padlocked doors after Gordon Ramsay’s pub invaded
SQUATTERS took over Marco Pierre White’s former Leicester Square restaurant last week.
The Metropolitan Police has now reportedly secured the five-floor building and removed as many as 400 squatters.
The steak and pizza restaurant was opened by the TV chef, 62, in 2021, but closed down earlier this year.
The manager of the Filipino fast-food restaurant next door told The Telegraph that up to 400 people had been living in the building.
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.”
Activists allegedly moved into the abandoned site and padlock the doors.
The Sun has approached the Met, council and Mr White’s agency for comment.
It comes after Gordon Ramsay served legal papers to evict squatters from his £13million pub.
The gang moved in to the venue last week, turning the 16th century former coaching inn into a dump.
But activists living in the York & Albany, in Camden, North London, cancelled an event yesterday after receiving a warning letter.
They wanted to rename the place the Camden Art Cafe and run a “soup kitchen”.
They wrote online: “Apologies to everyone who was going to come along today. Papers served, cafe cancelled!”
Ramsay has launched a High Court bid to boot them out and was about to sign a deal with new partners for the site.
Squatting in a non-residential property is not a crime in England and Wales.