Occupy London protesters take over fifth London site




Protesters said they "occupied" the building in the early hours




The Occupy London protest group says it has taken over a fifth site in London.
Up to 20 demonstrators moved into Roman House, on Fore Street, Barbican, in the City of London, in the early hours of Saturday, an Occupy spokesman said.
The "economic justice" campaigners said they planned to "open the building to the public" on Monday.
Berkeley Homes, which owns the empty office block, has asked protesters to leave, saying the building was "not safe for public use".
City of London Corporation and police said they were aware of the occupation.
Demonstrators have put up banners on the 1950s building, which has been lying empty for the past few years.

Protest 'misguided'


The latest move from the protesters comes after the corporation won its High Court case on Wednesday to evict protesters from outside St Paul's Cathedral, where the Occupy London Stock Exchange group set up its tents on 15 October.
Since October the protest group has "occupied" Finsbury Square, an empty office building owned by the Swiss bank UBS in Sun Street, east London, and the empty Old Street Magistrates Court.



Berkeley Homes, owner of Roman House, said the building was "not safe for public use"


A statement on Occupy London's website said: "Occupy London this morning publicly repossessed Roman House, an abandoned nine-storey office building in the Barbican in the City of London which previously housed companies from the financial service industries.
"The Occupy London campaigners - part of the global movement for social and economic justice and real democracy - stated that they intend to occupy the building - their fifth occupation - until such time as the City of London Corporation publishes full details of its City cash accounts.
"The City of London Police have visited the building and have agreed that it is a civil matter."
Berkeley Homes said the protesters were "misguided" and the building's previous occupants were a firm of architects.
A Berkeley Homes spokesman said: "We urge the protesters to vacate this building site as quickly as possible, as we are very concerned that they are putting both themselves, and members of the public, in real danger.
"It is not safe for public use, there are holes in the floors and we are in the early stages of asbestos removal.



City of London Police officers have been at the site since the morning


"The protesters are misguided in their actions which are sadly preventing Berkeley Homes from implementing their planning permission and so providing not only 90 much-needed new homes, but also a significant number of key construction jobs during an economic crisis.
"We are taking legal advice, particularly given the safety concerns, to ensure this potentially dangerous occupation ends quickly."
Earlier, Ronan McNern, a spokesman for Occupy London, said a health and safety expert had inspected the new site.
The protesters plan to open the building for the public on 23 January, which will be the 100th day since they began the London chapter of a global movement against "corporate greed".
The group said it would use the venue to hold lectures and events, beginning with a lecture on the City's "secret finances and lobbying activities".

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-london-16665217