Business as usual at St Pauls during anti-capitalist protests

The square in front of St Paul’s may have turned into a makeshift camp for anti-capitalist protesters over the weekend, but that did not stop services from running as usual.

Tents were set up on Saturday in front of the building, situated in London’s financial district, as the Occupy Wall Street movement went global.

The protesters were even invited in by clergy to take part in the Sunday morning service and when police took up positions on the front steps of the Christopher Wren masterpiece, they were told their presence was not necessary.

Canon Chancellor of St Paul’s Cathedral, the Rev Dr Giles Fraser, said it had been very good of the police to try and protect the building but told officers that he “didn’t feel it needed that sort of protection”.

“[The protesters] didn’t do any damage and church went off as normal this morning,” he was quoted as saying by The Telegraph.

“It has all been very peaceful. I am very much in favour of people’s right to protest peacefully. We have only seen good-natured protesters and police doing their job.”

Protesters had planned to gather in front of the nearby London Stock Exchange but a High Court injunction forced them on and they relocated to St Paul’s.

In fitting attire for the choice of venue, one protester turned up dressed as Jesus and holding a placard that read: “I threw out the moneylenders for a reason.”

There were still tents and protesters in Paternoster Square outside the cathedral this morning. Some protesters are reportedly vowing to continue the protest until Christmas.

In contrast to anti-capitalist demonstrations in other parts of Europe, the London protest was peaceful.

There were also peaceful protests in Edinburgh’s St Andrew Square and on the streets of Dublin over the weekend.

In Italy, police resorted to water cannons to bring the crowds under control after protesters started rioting and burning vehicles.