Parliament Square has been closed to the public after a group of left-wing protesters attempted to move in and take it over. Fencing was erected today and campaigners were moved on, but the Churchill statue still has a protester on its plinth.
The protesters arrived on Friday with tents and were widely expected to move in for the long-term, as they have done in the past. Breitbart London spoke to activists who said they were not campaigning for anything in particular but instead planned to run discussion sessions everyday on different subjects.
Historically the square had been open to different protests, given its location across from the House of Parliament. But the occupy movement took this to mean they had the right to stay indefinitely on a generic campaign against a range of grievances against capitalism and UK foreign policy.
The square is technically owned by the Greater London Authority, which is run by the Mayor of London Boris Johnson. He appears to have acted far more quickly than has happened in the past, ordering police and contractors to close it.
Officially it is closed for repairs, and there is no indication of when it will reopen. Police appeared unwilling to arrest the protester on top of the Churchill statue and his supporters were throwing food up at him to sustain him during his protest.
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