Occupy protesters vow to stay at St Paul's cathedral

Protesters in London remained in defiant mood, insisting that they would not be forced from their tented village outside St Paul's Cathedral.

... in http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk/2011/oct/22/st-pauls-cathedral-protesters-stay

A week on from the start of the protest, the Occupy London Stock Exchange group said on Saturday it was prepared to stay at the landmark "until there is a change in direction from the government".

The demonstrators' latest pledge came as senior officials from St Paul's met City of London Corporation (CLC) officials to discuss the decision to close the cathedral for the first time since the second world war.

Protest organisers said they had complied with every request the cathedral had made and would continue to obey any further demands to ensure the camp stayed.

A volunteer for the Occupy movement, Peter Vaughan, 24, from Hackney, east London, said: "We feel we have addressed all their health and safety concerns. We don't want a battle with the church."

Attempting to explain why the cathedral had appeared to backtrack from its support of the occupation earlier in the week, Vaughan speculated that church officials may have been under pressure from those with financial interests in the City.

The Reverend Canon Dr Giles Fraser, chancellor of St Paul's, dismissed claims that the cathedral had been shut for commercial reasons and defended the decision to close.

"I remain firmly supportive of the right of people peacefully to protest," he said.

"But given the strong advice that we have received that the camp is making the cathedral and its occupants unsafe then this right has to be balanced against other rights and responsibilities too.

"The Christian gospel is profoundly committed to the needs of the poor and the dispossessed. Financial justice is a gospel imperative. Those who are claiming the decision to close the cathedral has been made for commercial reasons are talking complete nonsense."

The dean of St Paul's, the Rev Graeme Knowles, said the closure was necessary because health and safety, and fire officers had identified unknown quantities of flammable liquids, along with smoking and drinking in tented areas, which compromised fire exits.

He also cited public health issues such as sanitation and food hygiene.

"The decision to close St Paul's Cathedral is unprecedented in modern times," Knowles said.

"We have done this with a very heavy heart, but it is simply not possible to fulfil our day to day obligations to worshippers, visitors and pilgrims in current circumstances.

"I hope that the protesters will understand the issues we are facing, recognise that their voice has been legitimately heard, and withdraw peacefully."

OccupyLSX estimated that hundreds would swell the camp on Saturday for a series of talks and demonstrations, potentially taking the number of demonstrators up to 2,000.

A wedding at St Paul's nevertheless went ahead on Saturday despite its closure to the general public.

Natasha Ighodaro arrived at the cathedral to marry Nick Cunningham against a backdrop of dozens of tents and a banner reading "capitalism is crisis".

Leaving the service, the bride said: "There hasn't been any disruption at all – it's been wonderful, really amazing."

Wedding guest John Giles, from Godalming in Surrey, offered his support to the demonstrators. He said: "I think there are valuable comments being made and it seems to have been done in a peaceful way. They have a democratic right to protest."

A spokesman for the cathedral said it would lose about £16,000 in visitor donations for every day it is closed. It will remain shut on Sunday and it is unclear when it will reopen.

Despite the closure of the cathedral, which is a major tourist attraction, most visitors to the site said they believed the presence of the camp, comprising around 200 tents, enhanced the building's exterior.

Earlier, Eqyptian activist Nawal El Saadawi, who was celebrating her 80th birthday, addressed the crowd on the steps of the cathedral. Hours after flying in from Cairo, she likened the tents around St Paul's to those that occupied Tahrir Square during the uprising: "All over the world it's a global revolution. We must fight together."