St Paul’s Cathedral is considering taking legal action against the protesters that have set up camp outside the London landmark’s doors, according to reports.

The Occupy London Stock Exchange camp, made up of more than 300 activists protesting against economic injustices, has forced St Paul’s to close its doors to visitors, potentially costing millions of pounds in lost revenue.

The closure of St Paul’s is said to be on health and safety grounds. But  activists have pledged to remain at the camp until after Christmas.

The City of London Corporation is now taking advice from lawyers.

Relations between the camp and the cathedral had started off well enough. The protest, modelled on New York’s ‘Occupy Wall Street’ movement, had originally intended to set up in Paternoster Square, the private commercial and retail plaza where the Stock Exchange headquarters are located.

However, the police blocked access to the square after the owners won a court order. Activists instead set up camp outside St Paul’s, and were welcomed by the canon chancellor, Rev Dr Giles Fraser, who said he supported the right of the “good-natured” crowd to be there.  

But now it has emerged that the cathedral could lose more than £1 million in the run up to Christmas, and the bars, restaurants and shops of Paternoster Square have already lost money since the protests began 10 days ago.

St Paul’s relies heavily on tourist visits for financing.

The City of London Corporation said that the protest is not the problem, but the campsite is.

The camp now has more than 200 tents, and an overflow camp has been set up a few hundred yards away in Finsbury Square.

However, there is apparently some confusion over who owns the land outside St Paul’s where the protestors have settled.

Old deeds show that the churchyard is in fact a series of different plots, which could delay any court action.

The protestors have responded that the closure of St Paul’s is unnecessary, arguing that they have complied with all health and safety provisions.

Activists say they will stay at the camp until there is a change to the system that allows a few to get rich any many to stay poor.