City of London serves eviction notices on St. Paul's protesters

The City of London Corporation, the civic body responsible for the capital's financial district, is today serving eviction notices on anti-capitalism protesters camped outside St. Paul's Cathedral.

The corporation is giving the Occupy London protesters, who also have an encampment in Finsbury Square, 48 hours to move away from the vicinity of the cathedral, the financial district's most famous church, where more than 200 tents have been put up.

The cathedral, designed by Sir Christopher Wren and completed in 1710, was closed to worshippers and tourists for six days on health and safety concerns last month, the first time it had shut its doors since the German bombing campaign in World War II. It has since reopened.

Criticism of the church's handling of the protest prompted the Dean in charge of the cathedral, Graeme Knowles, to quit yesterday following the resignation of two other clerics on Oct. 28.

St Paul's has “not yet sought an injunction nor are they serving notices on the protesters today,” it said in e-mailed statement today. “They are committed to a peaceful resolution at all costs.”

The Occupy London protest against bank bailouts, bankers' pay and cuts in government spending followed the similar Occupy Wall Street campaign in the U.S. where demonstrators have been camped in Zuccotti Park near the World Trade Center site since Sept. 17, calling for greater economic equality. The campaign has since spread to four continents.

The London protests have also hurt businesses located near the cathedral, with sales at Paternoster Chop House near St. Paul's and the London Stock Exchange falling 40 percent, manager Gerhard Jacobs said on Oct. 25. Stores and restaurants in New York have also reported a decline in revenue.

The issues raised by the protesters at St. Paul's need to be properly addressed by the church as a whole and society, Rowan Williams, Archbishop of Canterbury and spiritual leader of the Church of England, said in a statement yesterday.

Glasgow City Council is to go to court to try to evict protesters who have been outside the city chambers since Oct. 15, the British Broadcasting Corp. said on its website. Letters of expulsion have already been issued.

The municipality wants to resolve the issue ahead of Remembrance Day commemorations on Nov. 13, spokesman Colin Edgar told the BBC.