Occupy London: Protesters Return To St Paul's On Day Of Global Action

Anti-capitalism protesters from the Occupy movement have begun a new protest in the City of London.

It is part of a global day of action seeing thousands of people rallying in cities including Moscow, New York, Athens and Madrid, organisers said.

Several hundred people gathered outside St Paul's Cathedral for a rally before "visiting the 1%" at the offices of some of the largest firms in the financial heart of the capital.

Later the group pitched tents outside the Bank of England and said they were deciding whether to defy police orders to leave the site.

City of London Police said that it had arrested four people over public order offences connected to the protest.

Occupy said they have planned another protest for this Tuesday, which will target the British Bankers' Association.

Occupy London supporter David Lincoln said: "The Bank of England stands right at the intersection of finance and government.

"In the light of Bank governor Mervyn King's recent comments about 'vested interests' standing in the way of reform of the financial sector, it is clear that that balance in the UK is fundamentally skewed.

"Hundreds of people gathering by the Bank of England is a powerful symbol of how things have to change."

The demonstrators were closely shadowed by City of London Police, who attempted to contain them on several occasions, leading to a number of minor skirmishes.

A police spokesman said no arrests had been made and that the protesters had been given a deadline by which they had to leave the area outside the Bank of England.

"We have a proportionate response in place," he said.

Protesters filled a tent with balloons and floated it above the site where they were previously camped for several months.

It comes more than six months after members of campaign group Occupy London were prevented from occupying the square in heart of the City of London.

Instead, activists set up camp outside St Paul's Cathedral just yards away from the Stock Exchange and remained there for four and a half months.

At the start of May police arrested five people after between 50 and 100 anti-capitalist protesters set up a temporary camp outside the London Stock Exchange following May Day demonstrations.

They moved into Paternoster Square with tents and supplies on 1 May, but were forced to leave by officers several hours later.

Occupy protesters were joined by members of Spanish protest group Indignados and Take the Square.

An Occupy spokesman said: "Nowhere in Europe is the unequal distribution of wealth as striking as in the UK.

"The richest 1,000 persons, just 0.005% of the adult population, increased their wealth by £155bn over the last three years.

"That is enough for themselves alone to pay off the entire budget deficit and still leave them with £30bn to spare.

"'We're all in this together' never rang so hollow. Whilst the rest of the country is being crippled by austerity, the very same people who caused the crisis are now sitting on wealth even greater than what they had before the crash?"

St Paul's Cathedral remained open to tourists.

There were some minor skirmishes between protesters and police as they marched through the City.

Officers had briefly encircled the protest after it moved down Fleet Street and into Fetter Lane, causing some protesters to break through the police line.