A flapping banner adorns Old Street courthouse this afternoon, after Occupy campaigners secured the building for their own purposes. The formerly vacant landmark is the fourth occupation by the group, following the camps at St Paul's, Finsbury Square and the so-called Bank of Ideas on Sun Street.
Naming the new site Occupy Justice, the group say they'll conduct “trials of the one per cent”, suggesting mock-prosecutions of society's richest. (We're picturing something like the Q courts in the pilot episode of Star Trek TNG, which is probably a sign that we need to broaden our cultural reference points). The mischievous campaigners took the building with the aid of a small tank, as reported over in the Huffington Post.
The Grade II listed Old Street Magistrate's Court has sat empty since 1996, disused other than the occasional appearance in TV shows such as Luther (cultural reference points successfully broadened). If you want to pop down and find out more about the occupation, you'll find the building opposite Shoreditch Town Hall, at the eastern end of Old Street. Follow their trials on #OccupyJustice.
The Occupy movement is certainly keeping itself busy, and their generous output of press releases threatens to overwhelm the Londonist inbox. The St Paul's camp is currently undergoing its own court scrutiny, while the Bank of Ideas chapter can stay until at least January.
