Occupy London

Occupy London
Part of the Occupy movement
Occupy London Tent
Date	15 October 2011 - 14 June 2012
Location	London, England, United Kingdom Coordinates: 51°32′05″N 0°05′14″W / 51.534794°N 0.087354°W / 51.534794; -0.087354
Causes	Economic inequality, corporate influence over government, inter alia.
Methods	Demonstration, occupation, protest, street protesters
Status	Ended
Number
Thousands (at peak in Oct & Nov 2011)

Occupy London was a movement for social justice and real democracy in London, England, and part of the international Occupy movement. While some media described it as an "anti-capitalist" movement, in the statement written and endorsed by consensus by the Occupy assembly in the first two days of the occupation, occupiers defined themselves as a movement working to create alternatives to an "unjust and undemocratic" system. A second statement endorsed the following day called for "real global democracy". Due to a pre-emptive injunction, the protesters were prevented from their original aim to camp outside the . Instead, a camp was set up nearby next to St Paul's Cathedral. On 18 January 2012 Mr Justice Lindblom granted an injunction against continuation of the protest but the protesters remained in place pending an appeal. The appeal was refused on 22 February, and just past midnight on 28 February bailiffs supported by City of London police began to remove the tents.

The protests began in solidarity with the Occupy Wall Street protests in New York, United States, and with support from tax avoidance protest group UK Uncut and the London-based contingent of the Spanish 15M movement. In October protesters established two encampments in central London: one outside St Paul's Cathedral in the City of London and the other in Finsbury Square just to the north of the City. In November a third site was opened in a disused office complex owned by UBS. Named by protesters as the Bank of Ideas, the site was located in Hackney until occupiers were evicted in late January 2012.

A fourth site was established in late December, at the unused premises of Old Street Magistrates Court in east London. The site's owners objected to its long-term use by Occupiers, and agreement was reached for the building to be vacated by the end of January 2012. In February 2012, occupiers were evicted from their main camp in St Paul's, and from the Bank of Ideas, leaving Finsbury Square as the last London site to remain occupied. The Finsbury Square camp was cleared by authorities in June 2012.