text: Self-styled 'anarchist libertarian' squatters have set up camp in one of London's most historic monuments and unfurled banners reading  'Homes for all'. The protesters mounted Admiralty Arch, which joins Trafalgar Square with the Mall, and called for others to join them. It is not clear what their protest is attempting to highlight, as a garbled message posted on Facebook by the group simply calls for 'Christmas lights... any and all radical/revolutionary messages'. But banners bearing messages such as 'better squat than let homes rot' and 'respect existence or expect resistance' were seen hanging from the Grade-I listed building, as the masked demonstrators sat with their legs dangling over the side. Scroll down for video . Self-styled 'anarchist libertarian' squatters have set up camp in one of London's most historic monuments and unfurled banners reading 'Homes for all' One of the banners read, 'Respect existence or expect resistance' and another, 'better to squat than let homes rot' The protesters mounted the arch which joins Trafalgar Square with the Mall, and called for others to join them . It is not clear what their protest is attempting to highlight, as a garbled message posted on Facebook by the group simply calls for 'Christmas lights... any and all radical/revolutionary messages' The gatehouse, built as a memorial to Queen Victoria, was sold in 2012 after a Spanish hotel developer paid £60 million to buy it from the government. The five protesters from anti fascist group 'Autonomous Nation of Anarchist Libertarians (ANAL)' called for support in a message on their Facebook page as police converged on the area. They posted: 'Urgent shoutout for banners, Christmas lights and anything else we can use to make the most of this massive canvas we have. Any and all radical/revolutionary messages welcome, but a preference for antifa (sic) in anticipation of the pegeda event on the 4th of this month. Much love.' One onlooker, who asked not to be named, said: 'I've seen a couple of guys on different parts of the roof throughout this morning. 'All they were doing was shouting power to the people. I have no idea how they got in there because I'm pretty sure it's offices.' A man was walking across the roof of the arch this afternoon wearing a black sleeveless hoodie with the hood pulled up and a black scarf across his face. They added five photographs of themselves up on the building. They are believed to be the same group who took over the former offices of the Institute of Directors on Pall Mall in central London last month. The building, not far from Buckingham Palace, was targeted because it was originally opened by Tony Blair, the groups said at the time. The squatters later bragged that it 'wasn't difficult' to get into the historic landmark which is a five minutes walk from Buckingham Palace. The group said they got into the building overnight by climbing through an unlocked window. Proclaiming that what they were doing was 'more punk rock than the Sex Pistols,' one of the men, who only gave his name as 'Fox' said the group decided to take Admiralty Arch because it was a 'significant' building a stone's throw away from the Palace. 'Fox', who claimed to be one of the founders of the Autonomous Nation, said: ' We decided to take it because it is a significant building - you can see Buckingham Palace - there is a significant flow of traffic and we wanted to highlight the fact there are some corrupt individuals affecting this country and they need to get dragged out. Banners bearing housing messages were seen hanging from the Grade-I listed building as the masked demonstrators sat with their legs dangling over the side . 'Also, we wanted to highlight the fact that there are so many people that are homeless. 'We got in overnight through a window that was unlocked and just climbed in through that, there's about 15 of us here. 'The ironic thing is that we had been evicted from the building in Pall Mall and all we were doing was walking around here when a security guard said 'you can't come in here, you can't take this' - which said to us it must be empty and that's when we decided we could take it. 'We are trying our hardest to keep it clean and tidy, but when your squatting in central London the chaos does take its toll. 'We want to stay here as long as we can.' Fox admitted he was one of the hooded figures seen standing on the roof of the arch today and said he was shouting 'power to the people.' He also said that some of his colleagues were shouting 'ACAB' which stands for 'All Cops are B*****ds.' He added: 'That is not something I join in with [shouting about police] because I find a lot of police officers can be quite reasonable.' A 'Notice to Vacate' has been posted up the entrances to the landmark, however Fox warned that if the group are evicted 'There may be some individuals that do resistance. ' Another squatter, who asked not to be named, said: 'We decided to take it because it is two fingers up to the Royal Family. 'We are anarchists, we are not left wing or right wing, we are anarchists - look up the dictionary definition of the word. 'The Sex Pistols need to start doing a new album because what we are doing is more punk rock than the Sex Pistols.' Asked how long he wanted to squat in the landmark he replied 'indefinitely.' It is not the first time protesters have 'taken over' Admiralty Arch. In 2006, 14 Greenpeace protesters spent a day on the arch demonstrating over claims the government is using illegally logged wood. The gatehouse, built as a memorial to Queen Victoria, was sold in 2012 after a Spanish hotel developer paid £60 million to buy it from the government . The five protesters from anti fascist group 'Autonomous Nation of Anarchist Libertarians (ANAL)' called for support in a message on their Facebook page as police converged on the area . They added five photographs of themselves up on the building. It is not the first time protesters have 'taken over' the memorial . They unfurled banners accusing the government of 'trashing rainforests' during Cabinet Office renovations . A Metropolitan Police spokeswoman said: 'At approximately 10.22 this morning we were made aware of five protesters on the roof of Admiralty Arch opposite Trafalgar Square. 'They remain on the roof. Officers are in attendance.' Facebook user Love Activists posted: 'Love activists, SHA and the Autonomous Nation Of Anarchist Libertarians have occupied the old cabinet office opposite trafalgar square, on the road which leads directly towards the palace. We call out for all hands to assist us.' Another user Natasha Quarmby added: 'The Guinness Trust AST tenants are in court today, trying to save their homes, they are on their own, and not getting the support that perhaps other Social Housing campaigns are getting, like the Aylesbury Estate or Sweets Way.... I urge you to visit to visit their page and show some support, they would really appreciate it. 'What about these guys too, No Russel Brand on hand here.... Show them some support x (sic)' Tenants face losing their homes for a new housing development on the Guinness Estate in Loughborough Park, Brixton, and have been staging protests. Housing trust the Guinness Partnership is planning to redevelop the estate and create 525 new homes on the site. Tenants on shorthold tenancy contracts have been told they have until April to find new housing. Many of the tenants have been living in the building for over 10 years and claim they will have to find somewhere to live outside London as they can no longer afford to pay Brixton rent prices. Admiralty Arch was commissioned by King Edward VII as a memorial to his mother, Queen Victoria, and was designed by the architect Sir Aston Webb. Completed in 1912, it spans the entrance to Trafalgar Square from The Mall and was traditionally used as the residence of the First Sea Lord and the heads of the Royal Navy. Admiralty Arch was commissioned by King Edward VII as a memorial to his mother, Queen Victoria, and was designed by the architect Sir Aston Webb. It is pictured during the Royal Wedding of Princess Elizabeth (Queen Elizabeth II) and Prince Philip (Duke of Edinburgh) at Westminster Abbey in November 1947 . Neighbouring Admiralty House has provided grace-and-favour apartments for politicians including former defence secretary Liam Fox and former deputy prime minister John Prescott. The 147,300sq ft arch is spread across a basement, lower ground and ground floor, and five upper floors. The Government sold the long-term lease on the building in 2013. It is retaining the freehold, so will still have the final say after a Spanish hotel developer paid £60 million to buy it. Nights in the historic landmark, which joins Trafalgar Square with the Mall, won't come cheaply though; new owner Rafael Serrano is also the man behind the Bulgari Hotel in Knightsbridge, where rooms cost from £850 a night.
target: Protesters mounted Admiralty Arch, which joins Trafalgar Square with Mall .
  The gatehouse, built as a memorial to Queen Victoria, was sold in 2012 .
  It is now set to be turned into a luxury hotel after by Spanish developer .
  Anti fascist group 'Autonomous Nation of Anarchist Libertarians'