Occupy London Stock Exchange camp refuses to leave despite cathedral plea

St Paul's Cathedral dean resigns over Occupy London protest row

Graeme Knowles, the dean of St Paul's, stands down citing fierce criticism of the cathedral's response to the Occupy London protest group

the Guardian,

31 October, 2011

The dean of St Paul's Cathedral, the Rt Rev Graeme Knowles, has resigned , saying fierce criticism of the cathedral's response to the Occupy London protest group, which has spent more than a fortnight camped against its walls, made his position untenable.

The departure of such a senior figure – his replacement must be approved by the Queen – is a significant blow to the cathedral and the wider Anglican church. Both have visibly struggled to offer a coherent reaction to the camp, in particular whether it should be forcibly evicted. Knowles's departure comes four days after another senior St Paul's figure, Giles Fraser, the canon chancellor, quit.

While Fraser stepped down over a specific objection to force being used to evict protesters from the 200 or so tents that have been set up close to the cathedral, Knowles resigned amid a general sense that the St Paul's hierarchy had dithered. This was particularly the case over the week-long closure of the cathedral, the first since the second world war, because of apparent health and safety issues which were never fully explained.

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Occupy protesters at St Paul's Cathedral face first legal step to eviction

Occupy London Stock Exchange activists to be handed letter from Corporation of London asking them to pack up camp

the Guardian,

31 october, 2011

The first step in what is likely to be a lengthy legal battle to remove the anti-capitalist protest camp from outside St Paul's cathedral in London will begin on Monday afternoon when officials formally hand activists a letter requesting that they pack up their tents and other belongings.

A Corporation of London spokesman said the letter, which was still being drafted, was likely to ask that the Occupy the London Stock Exchange protesters move within 24 or 48 hours. Activists have been camping outside St Paul's for a fortnight in protest at the perceived excesses of bankers and the global finance system.

Legal officials from the corporation, which owns some of the land around St Paul's, said they would distribute several copies of the letter in the camp.

If the activists do not comply, which appears almost inevitable, then the corporation's lawyers will most likely start court proceedings on Wednesday under the Highways Act, seeking an eviction. This process could take several months, lawyers have warned.

The letter will point out that there is no objection to a 24-hour protest at the site, on the western edge of the cathedral, but that the presence of more than 200 tents plus assorted marquees providing food, information and other facilities meant the thoroughfare was blocked.

Announcing the plan to take court action after a meeting on Friday, Michael Welbank, the councillor who chaired the meeting, said: "Protest is an essential right in a democracy – but camping on the highway is not."

The Occupy camp ended up on the site, which is part owned by St Paul's, on 16 October after an initial plan to base itself at nearby Paternoster Square, the private business and retail development housing the London Stock Exchange, was thwarted by police action.

The cathedral has backed many of the camp's aims, but on Friday said it supported legal action. The decision prompted the canon chancellor, Giles Fraser, to step down, a move mirrored later by a part-time chaplain. St Paul's was closed for a week due to what officials said were health and safety issues with the camp's size and proximity.

A protester at the camp, Spyro van Leemnen, said any response to the letter would be decided at a general assembly later in the day. The movement makes decisions democratically, through mass meetings.

The group has promised to remain at St Paul's in the long term and spread to other areas in the City. A "spillover" camp at Finsbury Square, further east, set up a week ago, is now thought to be near capacity. It is believed that protesters will target a third site later this week.