Westminster Cathedral has downplayed reports that its environs are being used by an emerging criminal underclass as a marketplace for illegal drugs.
The cathedral is the spiritual centre of Roman Catholicism in Britain, serving as the seat of Cardinal Vincent Nichols, head of the Catholic Church in England and Wales.
However, a report by the Daily Mail claims that vagrants and drug dealers are using the grounds around the cathedral, and even the cathedral itself to conduct drug deals.
As well as possibly witnessing illegal transactions, Mail reporters spoke to a private security officer who patrols the area.
The officer told them, “There are deals going on inside the cathedral, in the pews and in the quiet side-chapels too.
“That's simply because we have a presence on the streets now – along with Police Community Support Officers – which makes it more difficult to deal outside.”
Another officer said that the police had arrested three of the primary drug dealers responsible, but that the courts keep releasing them, allowing them to continue their trade.
The increase in drug use around the vicinity of the cathedral has apparently had an impact on both local residents and worshippers, who the Mail claims, have lamented the “desecration” taking place on an increasingly regular basis.
One parishioner, Ethal Bram, 79, told the Mail she “wouldn't be surprised in the slightest” if drugs were being traded within the cathedral.
“I've seen people walking up to the altar and shouting down the microphone … I've seen people walk in the church just aimlessly wandering. Not sure what they're doing but again I wouldn't be surprised if it was drug-related. It is sad because it is a place of reverence," she said.
Locals have also told of an alarming increase in the number of vagrants and rough sleepers in the area, including some who apparently arrived in the country less than a year ago.
Westminster Cathedral however has downplayed the report, saying there had been “no direct reports of drug-dealing” within the building. It told the Mail it “takes seriously any allegation of drug dealing within its premises and urges anyone who witnesses such activity to report it immediately to our security team or the police”.
