“I think this one's reached the end of the road, too.”

“I agree PW - blatant lies. The police have video evidence of the attempted break-in by a gentleman in a black hooded top. Is this how they gained entry through the 'open' window?!”

“Interesting to see Jon refer to the it as 'our door' which of course is the issue - It's not. It belongs to the council. I'm surprised the police found it so hard to get into the building as access seems to be so easy for others..”

“Oh, and i'm not saying I believe the door kicking to have happened, i'm saying I saw the door kicking happening.”

“Well Lucy, I have 2 basic facts on the situation -
1. The police turned up on Friday and started repeatedly booting our door

2. Just days beforehand, the council made a false suggestion that we gained entry through the door being kicked by police.

So what I have suggested really seems like one of the few logical suggestions to me - but whatever the reason, the actions of the police were illegal and just the lastest in a long string of dodgy policing that seems to be aimed at intimidating a group out of the perfectly lawful activity of squatting. And before people start with the 'good - you deserve it' andgle, the bottom line is that the police should not act outside of the law that they strive so hard to uphold. If you want them to be allowed to break into squats, break up picket lines, arrest hunt monitors/saboteurs etc and a whole raft of other far right policies, then i suggest you go and vote tory!”

“Jon...

" It is my theory that this was done to substantiate the councils ridiculous claim the the Black cat lot caused criminal damage while entering."

Are you saying that you believe the police went to the site, damaged a door and left again, in cahoots with the council, just to backup a (possibly) fake claim by BANES that BC people damaged it to gain entry?

And you talk about wild accusations!”

“Dan has made some pretty wild accusations here - especially as, if as he claims, squatters were trying to break down a door and police were called, arrests would have been made. As it stands there is not a shred of evidence to that claim. As Black Cat collective say, the damage to the front door was comitted by a group of police who turned up, started booting the door and then left again. It is my theory that this was done to substantiate the councils ridiculous claim the the Black cat lot caused criminal damage while entering. Secondly, yes, there is some rubbish outside - this was all moved from the trashed interior of the building (which, for a property the council value so highly was left in a state of abject disrepair). The squatter met with the council and asked if the locked vehicle gates could be un-locked with council supervision so that the rubbish could be removed to the tip. The council declined the request.”

“The damage to the brickwork on the front of the building was done by Bath police trying to illegally kick the door in, trampling all over the legally enshrined squatters' rights. The Black Cat collective have in fact spent most of their time in the building clearing out the piles of rubble and waste that were in the building before they turned up. They've done over £1000 worth of work on the building in the past month - sounds like a fair swap for rent.”

“June, you mention that these squatters have not caused any damage - you only need to look at the front of the building they've occupied to see the damage they've caused to some of the brickwork, plus the amount of waste they've left behind the building since they gutted it of it's contents when "moving in". Police were also called to the scene as the squatters were observed trying to gain entry to one of the adjacent abandoned buildings, not through an open window, but by trying to break the door down!”

“so, according to Jon, the Black Cat have already been lining up other potential properties? Presumably they will enter legally through a convenient 'open window' again? that sounds a little threatening - not exactly the touchy feely image they are so at pains to project?”