Occupy London protesters can be removed from their camp at St Paul’s Cathedral, the High Court has ruled.
The decision means that the City of London can lawfully evict the site within 7 days, provided the case is not taken further in the Court of Appeals. John Cooper QC, representing Occupy London, has confirmed that the group will submit an application to appeal on Thursday.
The protest against corporate greed, which begun on 15 October, has courted controversy and uneasy relations between activists and the church which led to the resignation of St Paul's canon chancellor, Dr Giles Fraser on 27 October.
The City of London Corporation served eviction notices to protesters on 16 November which led to legal action after Occupy London refused to leave.
“We took this action to clear the tents and equipment at St Paul’s," said City of London Corporation's policy chairman Stuart Fraser. "We hope the protesters will now remove the tents voluntarily. If not, and subject to any appeal proceedings, we will be considering enforcement action as soon as possible.
"Lawful protests are a regular part of City life but tents, equipment and increasingly, quite a lot of mess and nuisance, is not what a highway is for and the public generally is losing out- as evidence before the court made clear," he said.
The protest group currently ‘occupies’ four sites across the capital in unison with similar protests internationally. They hold two disused buildings, Old Street Magistrates Court and a former UBS office block in Hackney, as well as encampments at Finsbury Square and St Paul's Cathedral.
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