INTRODUCTION: -

In June 2001, anti-war protestor Brian Haw began a long term protest at Parliament Square in London (just opposite from the Houses of Parliament).  His presence there has caused quite a stir since then as new draconian laws have been passed within the UK such as the 2005 'Serious Organised Crime and Police Act'.

At the time of putting this archive together I (webmaster of this site) have recently returned from a visit to the protest area which allowed me to check out what the protest is about, who Brian Haw is, who many of his supporters are.  It is no surprise to learn that there are movements within the House of Lords (cleverly crafted it seems) to finally remove him.

Please check back as this story evolves.

Webmaster: 10th May 2006

The main website for supporters of Brian and his cause is www.parliament-square.org.uk.

MAINSTREAM MEDIA NEWS LINKS: -

• 23rd May 2006: Anti-war protest placards seized - Police have removed placards belonging to anti-war protester Brian Haw at his long-running demonstration outside Parliament. Mr Haw said he had been left with just one placard after officers took the action over alleged breaches of his demonstration conditions. Earlier this month, Court of Appeal judges overturned a ruling that allowed him to carry out his round-the-clock vigil which he began in June 2001. Mr Haw, who was not evicted from Parliament Square, said his large display of anti-war banners, placards and flags had been "completely destroyed". He said: "They have left me with just (one) placard. All of my personal belongings have been taken and dumped in a container along with nearly all the displays. "They have completely destroyed all the expressions of people who opposed the war in Iraq. What gives them the legal right to remove 40m of evidence of genocide and reduce it to just 3m?" The legal size of the protest - 3m - was imposed by the Serious Organised Crime and Police Act (Socpa) 2005. 

• 08th May 2006: Judges rule against peace vigil - Peace activist Brian Haw may have to end his five-year vigil outside Parliament as the government has won an appeal against an earlier legal ruling. Last July, Mr Haw, 56, from Worcestershire, won a High Court action against a new law threatening his round-the-clock protest. But three Court of Appeal judges have now overturned that decision.

• 29th July 2005: Parliament protester wins battle - A man who has held a four-year anti-war protest outside Parliament, has won a legal battle to continue his vigil. From 1 August all protests in a half-mile zone in Westminster, London, must have prior permission from police. But the High Court has ruled Brian Haw, 56, from Worcestershire, who claimed he was exempt as his protest pre-dated the new laws, can continue his protest. The government said Mr Haw posed a potential security risk and described his argument as "absurd".

• 10th May 2004: Stalwart anti-war protester arrested - An anti-war protester who has been camped outside the Houses of Parliament for nearly three years was arrested today and his vast protest display dismantled. Brian Haw, 55, was arrested at around midnight on suspicion of obstruction and assaulting a police officer after refusing to move, police said. He had refused to leave the area after being asked to do so by police investigating a security alert posed by a car parked nearby. Officers later spoke to the owners of the car and the security alert passed.

• 18th May 2004: Commons war protester in court - An anti-war campaigner who has protested outside Parliament for three years has appeared in court charged with assaulting a police officer. Brian Haw is also accused of failing to leave a designated security cordon at Parliament Square, Westminster in central London, on 9 May. Prosecutors said they hoped to review CCTV footage before continuing with the case against Mr Haw, 55. He was granted bail and ordered to return on 1 June.

• 23rd May 2003: Demo ban threat to Westminster, Parliament Square's live-in protester faces eviction if a ban on protest is introducted - It's 1.37pm on Thursday May 22 on the pavement in Parliament Square opposite the House of Commons. The self-proclaimed "peace-man" Brian Haw, 54, is shouting at a rather frantic 55-year-old man. The unnamed man shouts: "It's satanic deception. It's man's protest, not God's!"

• 20th September 2002: 'As long as it takes' - On June 2 last year, Brian Haw travelled to Westminster to protest against the west's treatment of Iraq. Last night, 477 days later, the former merchant seaman and father of seven was still there. What fuels his quixotic vigil? Craig Taylor joined him - and the mice - for 24 hours to find out.

ALTERNATIVE MEDIA NEWS LINKS: -

• 11th December 2005: Meeting between cindy sheehan and brian haw turns to spontaneous protest in defiance of law - u.s. peace activist cindy sheehan, who lost her son as a soldier in the iraq war, met with brian haw, veteran parliament square protester, this afternoon. the meeting was harassed by officers from charing cross police station (including the ones who illegally arrested brian on friday morning!), and escalated into a full blown noise demo outside downing street in total defiance of the 'serious organised crime and police act' designed to prevent dissent outside parliament buildings. there were no arrests.

FURTHER IMPORTANT RESEARCH: -

• Wikipedia's entry for Brian Haw: "Brian William Haw (born 1949) is an unemployed British carpenter who is famous for living in Parliament Square since 2001 in an anti-war protest. Although he had begun before the terror attacks on the United States, Haw has become a symbol of the anti-war protest movement over the policies of both Britain and the United States in Afghanistan and later Iraq".