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Anorak News | Occupy London: The Eviction of St Paul’s – in photos

Occupy London: The Eviction of St Paul’s – in photos

by | 28th, February 2012

FAREWELL Occupy London Stock Exchange. It never got all that close to the actual Stock Exchange but did find a more controversial pitch by St Paul’s Cathedral.

Last night the City of London Corporation sent the bailiffs in. The tents that have been there since October 15 2011 have gone.

Some activists resisted. There were 20 arrestes. Occupiers created a barriers from wooden shelving units stacked 6ft high. They said they would resist “to the end”. Is this is how a British protest ended – with DIY shelving and promise to see it out no matter how hopeless the fight?

Kai Wargalla, 27, tells the Times that at 12:30am the police gave the campers five-minutes to leave. Kai vows:

“We will continue as a movement whatever happens.”

Will it become occupy computers?

Dan Ashman, another protestor, tells media in aline that could come from a melodramatic war film:

“It’s into the hands of the people now, we’ve done all we can.”

The City of London Corporation said:

“The City of London Corporation has begun to enforce the High Court orders for the removal of the tents and equipment outside St Paul’s. We regret that it has come to this but the High Court Judgment speaks for itself and the Court of Appeal has confirmed that judgment. High Court enforcement officers employed by the City of London Corporation are undertaking the removal with the police present to ensure public safety and maintain order. We would ask protesters to move on peaceably. The City of London Corporation is ensuring vulnerable people are being helped and supported to find appropriate accommodation in partnership with Broadway, a charity for the homeless.”

George Barda, one of the five protesters who appealed against the High Court’s decision to grant an eviction notice, told the BBC:

 “It’s not the beginning of the end, it’s the end of the beginning. My personal concern is that we don’t allow the drama of this event to eclipse the huge and important issues that we in this country and billions across the world are increasingly facing. And I have no doubt that as the economic situation gets worse in the coming years, more and more people will be joining this movement.”

 What now for the Occupy movement?

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Activists try to save some of their belongings as Corporation of London workers remove tents and other structures from the square in front of St Paul's Cathedral, where anti-capitalist protesters have been camped since November.



Posted: 28th, February 2012 | In: Reviews Comments (5) | TrackBack | Permalink