Police were called in to the first day of a U.K. property conference when campaigners sought to disrupt London Mayor Boris Johnson’s opening address.
Media reports from the U.K. suggest that up to 400 people staged the demonstration at the prestigious global MIPIM U.K. industry event, hoping to highlight the rising cost of living in London which they suggest have, in part, been inflated by overseas property investors.
The Mayor opened the event yesterday morning calling for “more convergence between London and the rest”, as ministers met to discuss greater spending powers for big cities.”
He added that London should not be punished for its success, however over the last 12 months there has been growing anti-foreign buying resentment in the U.K. capital that saw a number of high profile developers to pledge not to sell their new developments overseas ahead of sales in the U.K.
Police held back the protesters and prevented them from entering the conference centre.
Image: Olly Wainwright via social media..
Andrew Batt, International Group Editor of PropertyGuru Group, wrote this story. To contact him about this or other stories email andrew@propertyguru.com.sg
