2011 events October On 10 October 2011, a campaign was launched on
Facebook for protests to take place at the
London Stock Exchange on 15 October in solidarity with the
Occupy Wall Street protests in New York and with multiple other protests planned worldwide for that day. The
London Stock Exchange in
Paternoster Square was the initial target for the protesters on 15 October. However, the police blocked access to the square, enforcing a High Court injunction against public access. 2,500–3,000 people gathered nearby outside
St Paul's Cathedral, with around 250 camping overnight. On the Sunday morning a
canon of St. Paul's,
Giles Fraser, asked the police to leave the cathedral steps, saying he was happy for people to "exercise their right to protest peacefully" outside the cathedral. On 16 October, a gathering of over 500 Occupy London protesters collectively agreed upon and issued the following 'Initial Statement': By 17 October, an encampment of around 150 tents together with makeshift tarpaulin shelters was clustered around the west side of St Paul's Cathedral. On 21 October, the Dean of St Paul's announced that the cathedral would be closing until further notice as a result of the Occupy London camp pitched outside, and asked the protesters to leave the vicinity of the building "so that the cathedral can reopen as soon as possible". On the evening of the 21st it was reported that the protesters had decided that they would remain in their encampment outside the cathedral, and that they believed that they could not be lawfully removed from the site without a court order. On 22 October, the protesters established a second camp in
Finsbury Square, just north of the City of London in the
London Borough of Islington. poster referencing the
We are the 99% slogan. On 26 October it was reported that the Dean of St Paul's had decided that the cathedral would reopen on 28 October, following the resolution of all health and safety concerns. The move was described as an "embarrassing U-turn" by the British national newspaper
The Daily Telegraph. On 28 October, the movement's first set of demands, "Democratise The City of London Corporation", was published.
November On 1 November
Graeme Knowles, the
dean of St Paul's, resigned following the backlash against his Chapter's resolution to forcibly evict the Occupy London protesters from outside the cathedral. The
City of London Corporation proceeded to take legal action against the camp at St Pauls, without support from the cathedral.
Canary Wharf Group took legal action on 3 November to prevent Occupy London protesters from setting up camp in London's
Docklands. On 18 November, protesters took over a disused office complex owned by the bank UBS, located in the London Borough of Hackney. The site was opened to the public the following day as the
Bank of Ideas, and claimed to provide free services including a library, seminars and various discussion related events. On 28 November protesters at the Hackney site said they would contest attempts by lawyers to have them evicted.
December , at the time leader of the
Green party, discussing green economics with occupiers at the
Bank of Ideas on 6 December 2011. In early December, the
City of London Police made reference to Occupy London in a letter warning businesses about potential terrorist threats. It stated that: "It is likely that activists aspire to identify other locations to occupy, especially those they identify with capitalism. City of London Police has received a number of hostile reconnaissance reports concerning individuals who would fit the anti-capitalist profile. All are asked to be vigilant regarding suspected reconnaissance, particularly around empty buildings." By late December, consensus among occupiers at the main camp in St Paul's had seemed to coalesce round a view that is would be better to leave voluntarily as long as they can be allowed to keep a small presence, and negotiations were started to see if agreement could be reached with the cathedral. Also, in late December, a fourth site was established in east London at an unused court and police complex. Occupiers announced plans to use the new site to host a symbolic "trial of the 1%" Comparing the St Paul's camp as it was in January 2012 with its first few weeks, journalists such as Sid Ryan,
Brendan O'Neill and
Laurie Penny noted a change of character, with energy being diverted from political activism into caring for homeless and mentally ill people attracted by the companionship and shelter. Ryan has argued that despite caring for the homeless being a worthwhile cause, it may help the movement achieve change in the wider world if the camp is evicted. On 30 January, occupiers were evicted from the site where they had set up their
Bank of Ideas, by bailiffs acting on behalf of UBS, who owned the premises. In mid February, Occupy London took over an abandoned school in
Islington, which they called the
School of Ideas. They were evicted two weeks later, with authorities arranging for the school to be bulldozed on 28 February. According to the
Financial Times, Occupy activists insisted that their campaigning would continue, with some displaying banners announcing that the protests so far were "just the beginning." In April,
Bloomberg reported that the St Paul's camp cost London authorities just over a million pounds in monitoring and legal fees, while the Finsbury Square camp had so far cost about £10,000. In December 2012, the
Corporation of the City of London acquiesced to one of the Occupy London demands, releasing information about a previously secret bank account called
City's Cash. This fund had existed for hundreds of years and proved to contain more than £1.319bn. With an income of £145m per annum, 29% of this comes from school fees, with a further eight per cent coming from rents and nine per cent coming from grants, reimbursements, and contributions. However, the largest source of revenue was 52 per cent from investments. ==See also==