Protesters leave St Paul's

The protesters cut themselves free around 10pm after City of London Police entered the cathedral, an occupy spokesman said.

He said they decided to cut themselves free after being warned by officers that they faced arrest.

The Very Reverend Dr David Ison, Dean of St Paul's, said he and a member of Occupy Faith, the group's religious wing, were leading a prayer when the women came up and started shouting.

Police are allowing female protesters to remain in St Paul's and are no longer present within the cathedral, a spokesman for City of London police said.

Staff at the cathedral told police they were happy for the activists to remain and so officers left the building but maintained a presence outside to police the protest there, the spokesman said.

Protesters opened a large banner on the cathedral steps with the slogan "throw the money-changers out of the temple". The action came as the anti-greed group marks the anniversary of its now dismantled protest camp outside the cathedral.

Four women from the Occupy movement chained themselves to the pulpit in London's St Paul's Cathedral during evensong.

The women interrupted the service, shouted a list of grievances against the cathedral and read part of the Bible, according to a statement from St Paul's.

The service was then allowed to continue as the women, one in a wheelchair, remained chained to the ornate, carved pulpit under the cathedral's dome.

The women received communion, with the priests taking the service coming over to the pulpit to do so.

The anti-capitalist Occupy movement says several of its supporters have chained themselves to the pulpit of St. Paul's Cathedral.

The action marks one year since the movement's protesters began their camp outside the cathedral.

The St Paul's camp was forcibly removed by authorities back in February this year.

City of London Police are at the cathedral but the women from the anti-corporate group are understood still to be inside.