High court judgment to determine fate of tented camp set up outside St Paul's Cathedral due
Activists who have been camped outside St Paul's Cathedral for three months will find out if legal moves to evict them have been successful.
Mr Justice Lindblom is due to hand down judgment in the high court at 2pm on Wednesday following a five-day hearing before Christmas to determine the fate of Occupy London's tented camp in St Paul's Cathedral churchyard.
Legal action was brought by the City of London Corporation, which claimed that the Occupy London Stock Exchange (LSX) camp was attracting vulnerable people, and there were concerns about sanitation, safety and vandalism.
If the camp is evicted, an online campaign has called for supporters to form a ring of prayer in solidarity while others are calling for non-violent resistance.
During the hearing the judge, who visited the site, was told the number of tents at St Paul's had fallen by half to about 150 since the residential protest began on 16 October, when police prevented demonstrators against global financial injustice from occupying nearby Paternoster Square, home of the Stock Exchange.
David Forsdick, counsel for the corporation, had pressed Lindblom for an immediate judgment. But the camp was permitted to remain in situ over Christmas when Lindblom said the fact that the hearing had taken so long meant he felt he needed more time "to reflect on my decision".
In closing submissions, Forsdick condemned protesters for forcing others to make sacrifices. He said: "We do not live in a system under which even the most passionate protester can decide what detriment others should be prepared to tolerate."
John Cooper QC, for Occupy LSX, claimed the camp's impact had been exaggerated. This included evidence given by Nicholas Cottam, the cathedral registrar, who described acts of "desecration" and falling visitor numbers due to the "unpleasantness of the camp and presence of the media".
The judge was told the corporation did not "rush to court" over the protest camp, but had sought "to negotiate a peaceful end with a defined and agreed end date … that offer, from our perspective, was summarily rejected and no counter offer provided".
The corporation fully supported and actively facilitated the right to protest, it said, in a statement that drew sniggers from the packed public gallery.