MPs win battle to evict squatters
Friday, 10 July 2009 12:00 AM
By politics.co.uk staff
An MP couple has won a court hearing to order squatters out of their house after they had settled in their home in protest against the MPs expenses.
Ann and Alan Keen were granted an Interim Possession Order in a civil hearing at Brentford County court today.
The couple's expenses have been in the spotlight recently after they received a letter from Hounslow council threatening to repossess their main home which was apparently left empty for seven months.
On June 26th, some squatters entered the house which had fallen into disrepair after an alleged dispute between the Keens and builders.
Earlier today the squatters attended the hearing, bringing with them a sound system and posters saying "The people vs the MPs," "Homes not bombs" and "Housing for all".
Now they have been given 24 hours to vacate the house.
The Keens claimed £137,679 over four years for their second home, a Thameside flat in Waterloo, while their constituency house in Brentford was reported empty.
But the couple denied leaving the house vacant and insisted that married MPs were entitled to separate claims for a shared property, under the second home allowance rules.
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