Funny: Squatters seize London mansion of dictator's son

IT MAY be furnished, according to its new occupants, just as you would expect ''when you have spent £10 million ($A16 million) of blood money on a house'' but judging by the appearance of a masked man in camouflage carrying two shopping bags, no one had thought to fill the fridge.

Perhaps when occupying the multimillion-pound London mansion of a tyrant's son, food is down the list of priorities.

Members of a campaign group called ''Topple the Tyrants'' have taken over the plush eight-bedroom neo-Georgian house of Muammar Gaddafi's son Seif al-Islam in the exclusive suburb of Hampstead, north London.

Seif, who studied at the London School of Economics, bought the house in 2009.

The squatters were soon joined by a handful of activists from the British Libyan Solidarity Campaign and celebrated by chanting ''42 years - enough is enough'' from the roof, a reference to Colonel Gaddafi's time in power.

The protesters affixed banners to the roof reading ''Revolution'' and ''Out of Libya, out of London'', and declared their actions had been taken ''in solidarity with the people of Libya, the people of Cairo, the people of Saudi Arabia''.

Spokesman Montgomery Jones said the group had been formed in response to the events of the Arab spring; this was their first action.

Though there were no Libyans among the group, ''we have people from the Middle East and we're hoping to disseminate the protests more widely''. Further properties would be targeted ''if they are owned by dictators, absolutely''.

A printed notice declaring their legal rights as squatters taped to the front door, and the appearance of a man in a yellow tabard with the words ''legal observer'' handwritten on the back, suggested this was not the first such protest for those involved.

The property, the protesters said, was managed by Seif al-Islam through a holding company registered in the British Cayman Islands. They said they had been alerted anonymously to the address.

So what did £10 million of blood money buy by way of interior decor? ''It's palatial, flatscreen TVs in almost every room. We've got them all tuned to al-Jazeera now.''

The house, in a secluded, leafy road surrounded by some of Britain's most expensive residential streets, has an indoor swimming pool, a jacuzzi, sauna and steam rooms and a basement cinema with a four-metre wide screen.

Saif al-Islam, who studied at the London School of Economics, bought the house in 2009. It was listed for sale for £10.95 million ($17.6 million) as the Libyan crisis unfolded, though it has since been taken off the market. It has also been available to rent for £9750 a week.

A Scotland Yard spokesman said police were called to the house after reports of unknown people entering the premises.

''This is being treated as a civil matter. There have been no arrests,'' he said.

ANCAPS: ANARCHO-CAPITALISTS

Funny: Squatters seize London mansion of dictator's son

Funny: Squatters seize London mansion of dictator's son

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