Wandsworth Council abandons move to evict riot family

Wandsworth Council has backed down from its attempts to evict the mother of a teenager convicted for his involvement in last August's riots.

Maite de la Calva, who faced eviction from her Battersea council home when her 18-year-old son Daniel Sartain-Clarke was jailed for looting during last summer's disturbances, has been told that she can stay, her lawyers said.

Ms de la Calva gave a series of assurances to Wandsworth Council that she would do nothing which interfered with the "convenience" of other residents in the future.

She was threatened with eviction after her son broke into a Currys store in Clapham Junction, London, on August 8 last year as chaos swept parts of the capital.

He was discovered by police in the badly-damaged and ransacked shop's downstairs stockroom two hours after it was broken into by others and jailed for 11 months last week after admitting burglary.

But his mother and her daughter will now be allowed to stay at their home in Francis Chichester Way following a meeting with the council.

A Wandsworth Council spokesman said on Thursday: "Earlier today we conducted a formal interview with this tenant following her son's conviction for burglary, which was committed during August's serious and violent disturbances in Clapham Junction.

"The tenant, who was accompanied by a representative from Liberty, gave us a number of specific assurances that have allayed our concerns about any repeat of this criminal behaviour.

"She has also given us concrete promises that there will be no further breaches of her tenancy agreement.

"We have been promised that we will receive these assurances in writing. Once these are received we will consider this matter formally closed."

Emma Norton, Liberty's lawyer representing Ms de la Calva, said: "Wandsworth Council has finally seen sense and we're delighted Maite and her daughter aren't facing a future without a roof over their heads.

“But the appalling and heartless way the authority threatened this innocent family with eviction in the first place still beggars belief.

“Regardless of wealth everyone is equal before the law and we’d urge any tenants subjected to such bullying by other authorities to contact Liberty.”