The thermal images that prove 90% of tents in the Occupy camp in London are left EMPTY overnight

'The time has come for the protesters to leave,' says the Bishop of London



These are the damning images that prove the anti-capitalist protest that has closed St Paul’s Cathedral is all but deserted at night.



Footage from a thermal imaging camera taken late at night reveals just a fraction of the makeshift camp was occupied.



An independent thermal imaging company, commissioned by the Daily Mail, captured these pictures after similar footage from a police helicopter found only one in ten tents were occupied after dark.



Lone protest: Just three tents are occupied, as shown by the yellow and red from the thermal imaging camera. Behind, similar colours highlight warmer shops and their windows. Empty tents are in purple

Returning to life: Same view of the camp looking busier in daylight yesterday

Cooling emotions: The thermal imaging pictures show that the protesters' fervour seems to fade a little at sundown

Abandoned: The shack-like building behind empty purple tents is a marquee. An occupied tent is in red and yellow

Deserted: In London, the protesters' tents are pretty much deserted in a thermal imaging photo taken last weekend

In these shots, taken late on Monday night, the presence of body heat from humans is represented by yellow and red inside the tents.



The tents that are coloured purple indicate they are colder and thus empty. The buildings behind are also yellow and red because of the higher temperatures inside.

The images suggest the vast majority of the demonstrators who gather around the cathedral to denounce capitalism during the day go home or to a hotel to stay warm at night.

But despite being an almost entirely part time protest, the activists last week forced St Paul’s to shut for the first time since the Blitz, and the cathedral appears unlikely to reopen for months.

Chilly: The images were taken at 11pm on Monday night, when most activists could be expected to have been curled up in their tents keeping warm

Heat seeking: A man can be seen next to his occupied tent, which is glowing white, red and green from warmth

Protest or charade? Seen from another angle, nearly all of the tents appear to be unoccupied. There have been calls to clear the protest camp while it lies empty

Yesterday there were calls for the police to clear the camp at night when it is virtually empty. The Corporation of London has been talking with lawyers about launching court action, but so far no formal proceedings have begun.



Councillor Alex Deane said: ‘It is frankly farcical that most of these tents are unoccupied. It should be easier to evict part-time squatters.



‘They have to go. Surely even the protesters would agree that money spent on a lengthy court battle to clear the area would be far better spent on schools, hospitals, youth groups and housing.’

Mark Field, Tory MP for Cities of London and Westminster, said: ‘It appears it’s a daytime protest that dies off at night – so that would be the time for police to go in and remove them.’

Not just a game: Protesters make a statement with a piece of installation artwork based on the board game Monopoly

This image was taken at about 1am this morning, showing considerably more activity than when the thermal images were taken. The bright light is from the floodlit shops of Paternoster Square Part timers? A couple look at notices put up on the side of a marquee. Right, protesters sit chatting in the night air outside their tents at about 1am this morning



Security: A dog stands guard at the entrance to a tent near the cathedral steps at the front of the occupation camp

The Bishop of London this morning also stepped into the row over the occupation, saying it is 'time for the protesters to leave'.

Richard Chartres, the third most senior cleric in the Church of England, said in a statement: 'This demonstration has undoubtedly raised a number of very important questions.

'The time has come for the protesters to leave, before the camp's presence threatens to eclipse entirely the issues that it was set up to address'



Richard Chartres, the Bishop of London



'The St Paul's Institute has itself focused on the issue of executive pay and I am involved in ongoing discussions with City leaders about improving shareholder influence on excessive remuneration.



'Nevertheless, the time has come for the protesters to leave, before the camp's presence threatens to eclipse entirely the issues that it was set up to address.



'The Dean and the Chapter, who are responsible for St Paul's, have already made it clear that the protest should come to an end and I fully support that view.'

Mucking in: A protester sweeps the steps in front of the cathedral, where many tourists and visitors to the occupation camp sit during the day

Tent city: A couple walk by the damp protest shanty town last night, lit by the glare of the street lights

Rubbish: The protest planners have set up bins and toilets for campers and visitors to use

His comments came as Occupy London Stock Exchange denied suggestions that 90 per cent of the tents were left unoccupied overnight.



In a statement, the group said of the claims: 'This is simply not the case. We try to keep vacancy to a minimum and operate a sign in/sign out system to help ensure this happens.



'When someone knows they will not be staying overnight, they offer their tent to someone else.



'We are ordinary people with jobs and families. We are occupying in order to register our objection to being shut out of the political process.



'The fact that we are camping out here shows how seriously we take our right to participate and be heard.'



One self-confessed part-time protester is Robin Smith, a 48-year-old former Conservative councillor for Wokingham Town Council.



He said: ‘There are lots of middle-class people turning up and helping but they have to go back home and some people come once and go away.



Part-timer: Protester Robin Smith, a former Tory councillor, admits that he goes home every few days to have a wash before returning to his tent

‘They’ve got jobs and a family to keep, so they’ve got to look after their kids or go to work. I go home every two or three nights to get cleaned up and then return to my tent.’



The daytime-only protesters make a mockery of the slogan posted on tents and buildings around the camp which declares: ‘All day, all week, we’ll sleep on London’s freezing streets. Solidarity!’



The Corporation of London fears moves to evict the protesters could be delayed because of human rights legislation.



It follows the difficulties nearby Westminster Council had trying to remove anti-Iraq War protester Brian Haw from Parliament Square.



The first attempt was turned down in 2002 in part because a High Court judge ruled Mr Haw’s vigil was protected by Human Rights Act provisions on free speech.



Mr Field called on the cathedral to reopen during any protracted legal battle to clear the site.



He said: ‘Tourists can’t see one of the jewels in the crown of London and we’ve got major events coming up, including the Lord Mayor’s Show and Remembrance Day.’



Yesterday a giant Monopoly board appeared at the camp. Instead of the names of London streets it featured cities hard hit by the global financial crisis, and the game’s symbol of a smiling capitalist wearing a top hat had been transformed into a dishevelled figure begging for hand-outs.



Protesters said the board was made by secretive artist Banksy but a spokesman for the artist was unable to verify this.

'Go for it lads. Any poor soul out there must be absolutely frozen'



