An emerging tourist attraction itself, the protest at St Paul’s Cathedral has obtained an eviction reprieve
POLICEMEN CHATTED amiably with protesters and tourists on the steps of St Paul’s yesterday, while those of a religious bent made their way unimpeded into the cathedral, standing serene above a crisis that has engulfed the Church of England.
Up to 100 tents lay neatly erected around two sides of the cathedral, complete with portable toilets, a composting area, strictly-segregated rubbish bins for papers, plastics and metals, and a “Starbooks” co-operative library.
Two senior clerics have fallen from position, while another quit in disgust after divisions emerged about how to deal with the protests which led first to St Paul’s closure, then to support for an eviction, and then to a U-turn on legal action yesterday.
Standing by fencing erected to safeguard fire exits, Vicar Ian Harker from Leytonstone in east London told The Irish Times: "I came to show solidarity with them. I find it both serious and exhilarating."
He despaired of his church’s handling of the controversy, up to yesterday: “Nobody has seen the health and safety report that said St Paul’s had to close and now the man who wrote it has gone sick. You couldn’t make it up.”
Like others, he is struck by the organisation: “There’s no drink, no drugs, it is a very different kind of protest to ones that we have seen. Some people are unemployed, or students, sure, but others leave to do shift work.”
Each day, Occupy London holds a 1pm “general assembly” where issues are debated and decided, while a “tent university” offers seminars on capitalism’s inequities just a few hundred yards from London’s stock exchange.
David Matthews, from Northampton, chatted as he zipped up a borrowed tent in which he will spend the next four nights. “It has been incredibly mild. I was too warm, if anything. I came because I feel what these people are feeling.”
Matthews acknowledges that Occupy London does not have the answers, “but it is asking the right questions”.
“I am not a revolutionary. I don’t want to see an end to capitalism, but I do want to see a moderation of capitalism.”
The Church of England’s decision to abandon evictions was followed at 4pm by the City of London Corporation – which since medieval times controls most of the land occupied by the demonstrators – announcing that it was suspending action, for now.
Speaking before the Church of England’s reversal, home secretary Theresa May supported eviction: “The police and the church and the corporation of London need to work together to clear the protest as soon as possible.” Yesterday, the Anglican Church began the journey back to grace by embracing the protesters.
“The alarm bells are ringing all over the world. St Paul’s has now heard that call,” said Bishop of London Dr Richard Chartres. “Today’s decision means that the doors are most emphatically open to engage with matters concerning not only those encamped around the cathedral but millions of others in this country and around the globe,” he went on.
A senior banker, Ken Costa, who pays for a religious course attended by 10 million globally every year, has been drafted in to head up a dialogue between the Anglicans and the City’s financiers about capitalism.
The City of London is suspending its eviction notices, not abandoning them. “We want to leave more space for a resolution of this difficult issue, while at the same time not backing away from our responsibilities as a highway authority. We’re hoping to use a pause, probably of days not weeks, to work out a measured solution.”
However, Occupy London will not be unprepared since it has top-flight pro-bono legal help from City solicitor Paul Ridge and QC John Cooper.
For the Metropolitan Police, yesterday’s legal reprieve is, literally, God-sent, since support for Occupy London is growing, judging by exchanges between protesters and passersby yesterday.
One elderly woman, using a walking stick, mounted the cathedral steps. “Anyone who wants to go in can go in. There is no obstruction. I can’t see what the fuss is about. I blame the press,” she declared firmly.
