Add Category![Pictures of Ramsay’s pub in London. Picture credit: Andrew Styczynski/The Sun](data:image/svg+xml,%3Csvg xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg" viewBox="0 0 1280 720"%3E%3C/svg%3E)
The TV chef called the police last week but has been unable to remove the squatters from the 19th-century building. Pictures: Getty Images / Andrew Styczynski/The Sun
Gordon Ramsay once said he doesn’t “run restaurants that are out of control” — but that’s apparently not the case at one of his London eateries.
A gang of squatters has set up home in celebrity chef’s swanky £13m (AU$25.1m) pub.
The invaders have even slapped a legal notice on the outside of the Grade-II listed building, threatening action against anyone who tries to force them out, according to The Sun.
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The gang, said to be made up of at least six “professional squatters”, used Ramsay’s own kitchen appliances to barricade themselves in and have glued shut the locks.
Gordon Ramsay appearing on MasterChef Australia in 2018.
![Pictures of Ramsay’s pub in London. Picture credit: Andrew Styczynski/The Sun](data:image/svg+xml,%3Csvg xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg" viewBox="0 0 768 768"%3E%3C/svg%3E)
An occupier sleeps amid the trash at the Ramsay’s pub in London Picture credit: Andrew Styczynski/The Sun
The state of the pub when The Sun reporters visited. Picture credit: Andrew Styczynski/The Sun
The outlet report that photos reveal the swanky bar area of the venue — which had been temporarily closed for a handover — resembling a tip, with debris sprawled everywhere and a squatter crashed out on a leather sofa.
Ramsay, 57, was about to sign over a multimillion-dollar lease to new partners when the gang broke in to the York & Albany pub and boutique hotel near Regent’s Park, central London.
The TV chef — who was embroiled in a legal battle over the venue back in 2015 — reportedly called the police last week, but has been unable to remove the squatters from the 19th-century building.
“It’s an absolute nightmare scenario for poor Gordon,” a source told The Sun.
![Pictures of Ramsay’s pub in London. Picture credit: Andrew Styczynski/The Sun](data:image/svg+xml,%3Csvg xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg" viewBox="0 0 1024 768"%3E%3C/svg%3E)
The pub was temporarily closed while Gordon finalises a new lease Picture credit: The Sun
“The pub was temporarily closed while he was finalising a new lease, and during this handover period a gang of professional squatters somehow bypassed all the security and CCTV, and got themselves in.
“They’ve now boarded themselves in the building and are slowly taking over the place, leaving their crap everywhere and brazenly telling locals this is now their home.
“They’ve glued tight all the locks and are cooking up a storm in the kitchen, which is especially galling for Gordon.”
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The source said there were at least five men and a woman there, adding: “Some are crashing on sofas, but others have taken over the beautiful bedrooms.
Gordon Ramsay’s London pub, York & Albany, was taken over by squatters before the celebrity chef could sign a deal with new partners. Picture: Wikipedia
“Gordon called the police on Wednesday and is trying to secure an eviction notice, but it’s proving an absolute nightmare… it’s increasingly hard to forcibly remove these people.
“Gordon is at the end of his tether. Not surprisingly, a few choice words have been said.”
Shocking photographs taken by The Sun show one person barefoot and sprawled across on a black leather sofa inside the restaurant, with their personal belongings and debris, including empty wine bottles, strewn across the floor.
The legal notice on the door from ‘the occupiers’ warns they can stay put. Picture credit: Andrew Styczynski/The Sun
What appears to be a filthy plush dog toy is seen tossed on the floor near the swanky front bar that months earlier had been adorned with fresh flowers and pricey cocktails.
Calling themselves “the occupiers,” the group slapped a notice on the front door claiming they are entitled to stay in the pub because it “is a non-residential building.”.
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Parts of this story first appeared in The Post and were republished with permission.