Occupy London Eviction: 'Protest Movement Will Live On After St Paul's'

As Occupy London activists prepare for a judgment on the future of their camp at St Paul's Cathedral, which could be evicted if court of appeal judges rule against them on 22 February, an activist at the heart of the movement insists it will live on regardless of the outcome.

"We are looking at the camp and what is most effective so we can bring the movement forward to Occupy 2.0," Ronan McNern, of Occupy London, told International Business Times UK.

After the ruling, in which McNern said they are "prepared for the worst, but hoping for the best", Occupy London will continue and expand its outreach work in local communities, despite whatever fate holds in store for the encampment.

The camp's general assembly, a daily collective meeting of those involved in the London movement, will decide on its future after the court of appeal's verdict.

This may mean Occupy London "moving beyond the womb" from its "symbolic home" at St Paul's, which sprung up in October off the back of the Occupy Wall Street protests in New York.

"It is our home and has been such a focal point," McNern said.

Citing projects like Occupy Citizenship, which sees Occupy protesters giving workshops on citizenship in schools, he insists it is "still a movement".

He also spoke of other upcoming projects, like a London communities walk, in which the general assembly will visit different London boroughs and set up temporary camps for community events.

Occupy London has a duty to the vulnerable people currently seeking refuge at the camp, McNern stressed.

"The absolute message coming through is there are people at the camp we have to look after," he said.

The City of London Corporation claims one of the reasons why it is attempting to remove the camp is because of the number of vulnerable people it harbours, from drunks to those with mental health issues.

The camp is a "microcosm of society", McNern said.

"If the media were looking for a bad headline, they would find them pretty easily," he said, adding that this is no different to town centres across the country and that Occupy London is actually helping its vulnerable residents.

Occupy protesters are calling for a peaceful daytime eviction if they lose their appeal, after a night-time eviction of Occupy London protesters from a squat near Liverpool Street in central London turned ugly.

After a confrontation, a man drove through a crowd of the protesters who were trying to block his exit.