St Paul's cathedral could face closure without new funding
Video report by ITV London Correspondent Jonathan Brown
St Paul’s has stood proudly in central London for more than 300 years but Covid could result in the cathedral being closed.
Cost-cutting has resulted in multi-million pound renovations and roof repairs being cancelled due to the state of St Paul’s finances.
“It is probably the deepest financial crisis the cathedral has faced since it was built,” Reverend Dr David Ison told ITV London.
The impact of closing to tourists has had a major knock-on effect on St Paul's income.
Despite receiving £3.3m in government grants and cutting a quarter of its staff, St Paul’s still faces an uncertain future.
“St Paul’s is here to welcome people in and we want to be able to continue that and we are working as hard as we can to raise the money and make that happen,” Dr Ison says.
“The worst thing to happen would be if our doors were to close.
"We have no plans to close, we are not intending to that. That’s where we need help to keep the cathedral open.”