Molly Jade Davey was among the squatters

SQUATTERS who moved into a former primary school have been evicted after they were issued with a court order to leave.

A group of 20 people had set up camp at St Jude and St Paul’s school last month, after they found the campus abandoned.

Buildings had been empty since the previous summer as Islington Council made the decision to shut the school due to a lack of pupils. The “crews” later moved in and transformed classrooms into studios and bedrooms.

The squatters previously told the the Tribune that they had wanted to use the vacant space until a new use could be proven, and had planned to open up the school for community events in the meantime. They argued they would only leave when the landlords could prove that there was a new use for the building.

But representatives from the London Diocesan Board for Schools (LDBS), which owns the former Church of England school, had urged the squatters to leave, as they accused them of holding up plans for the structure to be used as a learning facility for adults with special educational needs.

Eviction notice at St Jude and St Paul’s school

Molly Jade Davey, one of the squatters, explained earlier this month that the group is “very, very strict with everyone” and that “everyone knows that you do not harm the building”.

The Tribune understands, however, that the LDBS have found thousands of pounds worth of damage on re-entering the building. This included broken aluminium doors, ceiling tiles, and damage to the underfloor heating.

A spokesperson for LDBS said: “Last week, High Court Enforcement Officers executed a warrant so we could take possession of the building on Kingsbury Road.

“Now we have been able to access the site, we have been able to clearly see that the building was broken into when the squatters first arrived. There has been significant, albeit largely cosmetic, damage, and this will take a little time to resolve.”

They added: “We would like to thank the Parish and local residents for their support and understanding over recent weeks. While we are wholly sympathetic to the situation of homeless people in London, we also had a responsibility to respond to the significant number of complaints that we had from local residents. We had hoped that a conclusion could be reached without the need for enforcement action, but sadly this was not to be the case. We are now working at pace to ensure that the building can be ready for its next chapter.”