Occupy London St Paul's mob set to stage a return

Just when you thought it was safe to return to St Paul’s – they’re back.

The Occupy London mob today announced plans to return to the grounds of the iconic cathedral in London which they turned into a rubbish dump before the New Year.

Remember? They were the rabble who spent four months making the place look and smell like a trash heap, insisting they were pioneers, fighting for for the good of the people.

Of course most to whom I spoke had no objection to “the system” when it came to collecting their benefits cheques or claiming free health care from the NHS.

And their staunch anti-capitalist views took a back seat as they queued to get into Starbucks to use the toilets, or strew empty Coca-cola bottles around their makeshift campsite.

It seems the only problem they had with the system was getting a regular job and contributing to it.

By the look, and smell, of most of them I would have said that their options were fairly limited anyway.

I did not start off with such a caustic attitude towards these people. In fact after an interview with one of the few protesters I had any time for, I viewed them with a degree of, well, almost respect.

But as I grew to know them better, was chased off to a barrage of foul language for doing my job, had greasy hands shoved in my face when I took photographs, and listened to their drivel about inequality and the unfairness of it all, punctuated by giving me a false name, that soon evaporated.

Thankfully they were removed from St Paul’s after a lengthy legal battle between their lawyers (provided for free) and the City of London co-orporation ended in February.

There were of course tears of indignation outside London’s High Court, cries of Human Rights being violated and vows to return.

After the kerfuffle died down, the great unwashed masses removed their grotty carcasses from the site and normality returned, aided by several bottles of Dettol and a few slugs of Domestos.

But in the past three months this rabble has been plotting more disruption, and today they announced intentions to return to St Paul’s for a "Day of Action" at the weekend.

The call to protest included urged the like minded to “bring a tent” - convenient now the winter has ended, they suddenly feel politically motivated enough to sacrifice their warm beds for the principled comfort of the steps outside St Paul’s again.

I suppose hoping they had gone away, had a bath and a shave, and started contributing to society was a bit too much to ask.

In the past three months they have been inflicting misery to  other parts of the city, and generally causing a nuisance to law-abiding citizens by pitching up next to their houses.

One group of residents were driven to their wits end after the mob set  fire to woodland and hung ridiculous banners from the trees.

It will be interesting to see the reaction they get as they re-emerge, like a persistent mould on a shower curtain you thought you had got rid of.

I don’t think anyone is really interested in their “message”, and most would rather they just got lost and got a job.

One thing I do hope is that we don’t end up with a repeat of the ludicrous battle of wills that made a joke of the legal system the last time, and that the police have the guts to kick them out - literally if needed.