St Paul’s protesters evicted

The protesters of Occupy London camp who have been a feature of St Paul’s Cathedral since October have been evicted by the police.

This comes after the anti-capitalist protesters were refused an appeal to a High Court decision for them to leave.

Bailiffs and police began moving the group and their equipment just after midnight, though reports confirm that most of the protesters did not resist and went peacefully. Despite this, it is thought that around 20 arrests were made over the course of the night.

Just last week the High Court ruled in favour of the City of London Corporation, giving it rights to lawfully evict the camp.

Some of the protesters, who had moved to a disused building in Islington (which they named their ‘School of Ideas’) were also evicted this morning, and the building bulldozed.

On a post on their official website, Occupy London declared: “This morning, the City of London Corporation and St Paul’s Cathedral have dismantled a camp and displaced a small community, but they will not derail a movement. The attention given to the final hours of the Occupy London Stock Exchange site is testament to that. We would like to thank all those who got the word out on social and traditional media overnight. We are deeply appreciative of the sustained attention we have received; it’s all the more precious at absurd hours of the morning.”

Rev Giles Fraser, who resigned as canon chancellor of St Paul’s after showing support to the movement, was refused entry to the camp last night, according to protesters. He said: “This is a sad day for the Church.”

Eleanor Hooper