St Paul’s protest group hails legal ‘victory’
The City of London joins St Paul’s Cathedral in suspending all legal action against the Occupy London protest group, who describe the decision to Channel 4 News as “a victory”.
But the City of London emphasised it was suspending, and not stopping, legal action.
“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,” the corporation said in a statement.
St Paul’s Cathedral said it now intends to “engage directly and constructively with the both the protesters and the moral and ethical issues they wish to address, without the forcible eviction hanging over both the camp and the church.”
But it added that the chapter “of course recognises the corporation’s [the local authority] to take such action on corporation land”.
Reacting to the news, a spokesman for OLSX, Spyro Leemnen, told Channel 4 News: “Obviously this is good news, it is what we wanted, the church is now realising that they stand for the same values as we do. It is good for them, and it is good for us.
Reacting to the news, a spokesman for OLSX, Spyro Leemnen, told Channel 4 News: “Obviously this is good news, it is what we wanted, the church is now realising that they stand for the same values as we do. It is good for them, and it is good for us.
“We’re very happy because I think all sides now realise that it is better to work together in dialogue than fight each other. So this is an absolute victory and there is a very positive mood now in the camp,” he continued.
Read more: Who are the St Paul's protesters and what do they want?
The Bishop of London, Dr Richard Chartres, said: “The alarm bells are ringing all over the world. St Paul’s has now heard that call. 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 added that St Paul’s has invited banker Ken Costa, former chair of UBS, to spearhead an initiative “reconnecting the financial with the ethical.”
Mr Costa will be supported by a number of City of London, church and public figures – including former St Paul’s canon Giles Fraser, who resigned over the handling of the protests – to promote dialogue with the protesters.
