St Paul's Cathedral was been forced to close its doors to the public today for the first time in 60 years because of the anti-capitalist protest taking place outside. Thousands of protesters camped around the historic church forcing tourists to pick their way through tents and people sitting on the pavements.
The Dean of St Paul's, the Rev Graeme Knowles, said the decision to close the cathedral was made with "heavy hearts". He said the decision was taken after church officials received a report by health and safety officials.
The Dean asked the activists, who have occupied a makeshift campsite outside the main entrance of the house of worship since Saturday, to move on but they refused.
The cathedral has not been closed since the Second World War, the Dean said. "We have a legal obligation to keep visitors safe and healthy," he added.
The Dean said the decision to close the Cathedral was "unprecedented" and he had written an open letter to the protesters this afternoon advising them that due to their action he had no lawful alternative but to close St Paul's Cathedral until further notice.
No comments:
Post a Comment