Dealers are selling hard drugs during Mass in the pews of Britain's biggest Roman Catholic church, it has been alleged.
Situated next to Victoria Station in the heart of the London’s Heritage Quarter, Westminster Cathedral is one of the most recognisable places of worship in the country.
It was the site where former prime minister Boris Johnson and his partner Carrie married in 2021. Two schools — St Vincent's Primary and Westminster Cathedral Choir School —are also located within the church’s grounds.
But the 130-year-old building has reportedly been overrun with criminals pushing a range of Class A drugs — including cocaine, heroin and spice — to vagrants for as little as £5 a hit.
Reports of deals have taken place inside the cathedral itself, with one regular worshipper reporting a “brazen” exchange that occurred during a service last week.
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“There are deals going on inside the cathedral, in the pews and in the quiet side-chapels too,” a private security guard patrolling the area told the Daily Mail.
“That's simply because we have a presence on the streets now — along with Police Community Support Officers — which makes it more difficult to deal outside.”
Recent data from Parliament's public accounts committee found Westminster to have the second highest homelessness rate of all the London boroughs, with more than 7,500 people of no fixed abode.
Approximately 500 of those are thought to be rough sleepers a predicament often associated with drug consumption.
The Diocese of Westminster has been forced to beef up security due to cases of drug-taking and anti-social behaviour, with four guards now patrolling the entrance and the surrounding area during opening hours.
Parishioner Ethal Bram, 79, who attends Mass weekly, said: “I've seen people walk in the church just aimlessly wandering. Not sure what they're doing but again I wouldn't be surprised if it was drug-related.”
Clare Rewcastle, 66, who lives in a mansion block that overlooks the cathedral on Morpeth Terrace, said the drugs problem in the area “has hit like a truck”, adding that “relevant services and authorities need to wake up”.
An employee of the neighbouring St Paul's bookshop said she feels intimidated, adding: “The quantity of homeless people around the church this year is the most I have ever seen. I often see weird behaviour and it scares me.”
Rachel Blake, MP for Cities of London and Westminster, chaired a meeting of residents on July 23 and followed up with an email to constituents, in which she admitted: “It is quite wrong that residents are having to live like this and that you should have to continue raising the matter with public bodies.”
The Labour backbencher also promised to formulate an “action plan” in consultation with Westminster City Council, the Metropolitan Police and “local partners”.
A spokesman for Westminster Cathedral said it “takes seriously any allegation of drug dealing within its premises and urges anyone who witnesses such activity to report it immediately to our security team or the police:”.
However, the cathedral remains adamant that “our team has received no direct reports of drug-dealing inside the cathedral”.
