IT SURVIVED the German onslaught, becoming a beacon of defiance during the Blitz. However, what bombs could not achieve, a few protestors have. Three senior members of staff have resigned and, for a time, the doors were closed on health and safety grounds. I’m talking about St Paul’s Cathedral, naturally, which has been branded a “joke”. The most senior cleric, the Right Reverend Graeme Knowles, the Dean, stood down after he was unable to persuade his colleagues to support a legal eviction of the camp. Fearing violence, the churchmen found themselves facing a terrible dilemma, for they had, at first, welcomed the protestors, who ended up targeting the wrong institution. Initially, they’d wanted to occupy privately held land adjacent to the Stock Exchange, but had to retrench to the cathedral, at which point the police were asked to leave. The health and safety saga followed because tents were blocking access to the public and emergency vehicles. Finally, after further advice over insurance liabilities, the doors were closed. On day one, St Paul’s lost £20,000 in visitor charges. Weddings and worshippers had to use the back doors, and local businesses were affected adversely. Interestingly, an infra-red scan showed that only ten per cent of the tents were occupied overnight. It does make one question the protestors’ convictions. They are, we are told, anti-capitalists, with redistribution of wealth at the top of their agenda. This week, the cathedral offered the protestors the chance to stay until New Year. And the Archbishop of Canterbury has entered the fray, demanding a tax on financial transactions. It is, of course, his duty to champion the poor and dispossessed. But the Church of England also needs his lead on matters of faith, conscience and morality. One of the banners held aloft by demonstrators asked; ‘What would Jesus do?’. Can I suggest that he would have told the protestors to go home and get on with their lives, while having a sharp word or two with the bankers about responsibility and restraint.