Occupy Finsbury Square camp removed

Last City of London encampment is cleared as new Occupy tents appear on Hampstead Heath

guardian.co.uk, Peter Walker, Thursday 14 June 2012

An Occupy protester in Finsbury Square before the camp was dismantled.
Photograph: Peter Macdiarmid/Getty Images

The last holdout of last autumn's Occupy encampments in London has been removed, a day after a fresh tented community sprang up on the green spaces of Hampstead Heath.

Occupy Finsbury Square, on the edge of London's financial district, began as a spillover of the main camp set up outside St Paul's Cathedral in mid-October by protesters demonstrating against the perceived excesses of the global financial system.

As bailiffs and police removed Occupy from the handful of disused office buildings they also took over, and then, at the end of February, the St Paul's camp, those at Finsbury Square were permitted to stay. The small green space, surrounded by office blocks, is owned by Islington council, which was less eager to act than the Corporation of London, which led the St Paul's removal.

However, while Occupy rebranded Finsbury Square as an "eco village" showcasing sustainable technologies, the longer it went on it attracted an increasing number of vulnerable homeless people, often with drink or drug problems, rather than protesters.

In May, Islington announced it had begun legal action to remove the camp, saying it was "apparent that the character of the protest has changed and Occupy's presence is significantly diminished". A possession order was granted two weeks ago.

Council officials, aided by police, began the eviction at around 1am, taking around two hours to remove everyone. A Metropolitan police spokesman described the operation as low key, with no arrests.

In the runup to the eviction, the council said it gave assistance to 48 homeless or otherwise vulnerable people connected to the camp. Now the square has been cleared, turf will be relaid before it reopens to the public.

Paul Convery, the Islington councillor in charge of community safety, said in a statement: "Finsbury Square is public space for the people of Islington, one of Britain's most deprived boroughs. We're returning the square to community use, and it is being cleaned and will soon be reopened to the public for the summer.

"Today's enforcement action was peaceful and low key, and I'd like to thank the police, our street outreach team, and other partner organisations for their help. A number of vulnerable and homeless people have been living in the square. We have been speaking to them and offering advice and support to those who need assistance."

On Wednesday, another group of people associated with Occupy set up a camp on part of Hampstead Heath, a large green space in the north of the capital, on land also owned by the Corporation of London. The so-called Occupy Nomad camp has been billed as "a new space for political discussion".

The wider Occupy movement has attempted to maintain its momentum despite the end of its most high-profile manifestation, at St Paul's, with regular protests and other events.

On Friday, activists from Occupy and others from around the world plan a series of events around London to highlight the activities of large corporations in developing nations, under the banner of the Carnival of Dirt.