Cable admits to sympathy for St Paul’s anti-capitalism protest

Vince Cable has revealed he sympathises with the feelings of those protesting outside St Paul’s Cathedral.

Speaking to the BBC’s Politics Show, the Business Secretary said the anti-capitalist demonstration reflected the feeling that a small few had done “extraordinarily well” in the economic crisis, while many more have suffered.

“I have sympathy with the emotions that lie behind it,” Mr Cable said in his interview.

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“Some of their recommendations aren’t terribly helpful, but that’s not the point,” he added.

“I think it does reflect a feeling that a small number of people have done extraordinarily well in the crisis, often undeservedly, and large numbers of other people who’ve played no part in causing the crisis have been hurt by it.”

Campaigners set up tents outside the Cathedral on October 15, causing it to close its doors to the public for a week.

Prime Minister David Cameron has said erecting tents in the middle of a city was not a “particularly constructive” way to protest.

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Speaking to the House of Commons Liaison Committee this week, he confessed to having the “rather quaint view” that people “shouldn’t be able to erect tents all over the place”.

“Protesting, you should do on two feet, rather than lying down – in some cases in a fairly comatose state,” he added.

Labour leader Ed Miliband said the protesters reflected a “crisis of concern” in mainstream Britain which must be addressed by politicians, the business community and the Church.