Occupy London St Pauls has been trying to raise its image. Here what an independent investigation has found: ‘Desecration: graffiti have been scratched and painted on to the great west doors of the cathedral, the chapter house door and most notably a sacrilegious message painted on the restored pillars of the west portico.
‘Human defecation has occurred in the west portico entrance and inside the cathedral on several occasions.’
There have been noisy interruptions during services, foul language directed at staff and the use of alcohol and ‘other stimulants’ that appeared to ‘fuel the noise levels day and night'.
More than half of schools scheduled to visit the cathedral had cancelled since the occupation began on October 15. Drop-in visitor numbers were also down by half.
A further witness statement from a police inspector expressed ‘mounting concern of drugs within the camp’ including ‘what is currently believed to be a liquid class A drug'.
Social workers have also raised concerns the camp is attracting vulnerable people with mental health and substance abuse problems.
Anti-capitalist protesters were served with an eviction notice by the City of London Corporation last week
Another activist admitted there had been problems with protesters urinating on each other’s tents, and called for a ban on drink and drugs, telling the group: ‘Recreational drinking isn’t something we should passionately support — this is a movement trying to overthrow capitalism,’ she said, adding that anyone wanting to have a drink or 'do a few lines’ (presumably of cocaine) could go off-site.
A member of the so-called Tranquillity Team, a roster of protesters who spend the nights trying to quell trouble, says they have been rushed off their feet dealing with problems, and that people carousing on the cathedral steps have been keeping everyone awake until dawn.
Meanwhile, a member of the finance team implored people to stop asking for money that has been donated to the camp. 'We won’t give out money for cigarettes or booze,’ he said, clearly exasperated. 'Please don’t even bother asking.’
Legal notice was served on the camp on Thursday, a day after U.S. police cleared the Occupy Wall Street camp in New York. The Corporation had halted earlier court action to hold talks with protesters. But policy chairman Stuart Fraser said the negotiations went ‘nowhere’.
Naomi Colvin, for Occupy London, insisted the threat of eviction ‘was not something we need to be remotely worried about’. She added: ‘It could take months. We will contest it.’
Apparently 'The Great Unwashed's' 'headquarters' is the nearby Starbucks because there's free WiFi, its warm and dry and they need somewhere to spend their job seekers allowance (paid for by us tax payers who include a few capitalists I imagine!).
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