Brian Haw

Brian Haw

Brian William Haw (born 1949) is an English protestor who has lived in a camp in London's Parliament Square since 2001 in a protest against UK and US foreign policy. Although he had begun his protest before the 2001 United States attacks, Haw has become a symbol of the anti-war movement over the policies of both Britain and the United States in Afghanistan and later Iraq. He was voted Most Inspiring Political Figure at the 2007 Channel 4 Political Awards.

Early life

Haw was born in Woodford Green in the London Borough of Redbridge and grew up in neighbouring Barking and in Whitstable, Kent. His father, who worked in a betting office, had been one of the first British soldiers to enter Bergen-Belsen concentration camp, and committed suicide 20 years later. Haw was apprenticed to a boat-builder from the age of 16 and then entered the Merchant Navy as a deckhand.

Parliament Square protests

Brian Haw.

On 2 June 2001, he began camping in Parliament Square in central London in a one-man political protest against war and foreign policy (initially, the sanctions against Iraq). By his own account, he was first inspired to take up his vigil after seeing the images and information produced by the Mariam Appeal, an anti-sanctions campaign. Haw justifies his campaign on a need to improve his children's future. He only leaves his makeshift campsite in order to attend court hearings, surviving on food brought by supporters. Support for Haw's protest has come from former Labour cabinet minister Tony Benn and activist/comedian Mark Thomas. Among the artwork displayed was a Banksy stencil of two soldiers painting a peace sign and Leon Kuhn's anti-war political caricature 3 Guilty Men, which, together with Kuhn's The Proud parents, Mark Wallinger later displayed in his recreation at the Tate in 2007.

Westminster City Council attempted to prosecute Haw for causing an obstruction to the pavement in October 2002 but the case failed as Haw's banners did not impede movement. The continuous use of a megaphone by Haw led to objections by Members of Parliament who have offices close to his protest. The House of Commons Procedure Committee held a brief inquiry in summer 2003 which heard evidence that permanent protests in Parliament Square could provide an opportunity for terrorists to disguise explosive devices, and resulted in a recommendation that the law be changed to prohibit them. The Government passed a provision banning all unlicensed protests, permanent or otherwise, in the Serious Organised Crime and Police Act 2005 (sections 132 to 138); however, because Mr Haw's protest was on-going and residing on Parliament Square prior to the enactment of the Act, it was unclear whether the Act applied to him (see Legal Action, below).

In the 2005 general election Haw stood as a candidate in the Cities of London and Westminster in order to further his campaign and oppose the Act which was yet to come in to force. He won 298 votes (0.8 percent), making a speech against the ongoing presence of UK troops in Iraq at the declaration of the result.

Legal action

Brian Haw's protest

As preparation for implementing the new Serious Organised Crime and Police Act 2005 began, Haw won an application for judicial review on 28 July 2005, successfully arguing that a technical defect in the Act meant it did not apply in his case. The Act states that demonstrations must have authorisation from the police "when the demonstration starts", and Haw asserted that his demonstration had begun before the passage of the Act, which was not made retroactive. Although the commencement order made to bring the Act into force had made reference to demonstrations begun before the Act came into force, there was no power for the commencement order to extend the scope of the Act.

The Government appealed against the judgement, and on 8 May 2006 the Court of Appeal allowed the appeal and therefore declared that the Act did apply to him. The Court found that the intent of Parliament was clearly to apply to all demonstrations in Parliament Square regardless of when they had begun:

The only sensible conclusion to reach in these circumstances is that Parliament intended that those sections of the Act should apply to a demonstration in the designated area, whether it started before or after they came into force. Any other conclusion would be wholly irrational and could fairly be described as manifestly absurd.

In the meantime Haw had applied for permission to continue his demonstration, and received it on condition that his display of placards is no more than 3 m wide (among other things). Haw was unwilling to comply and the Police referred his case to the Crown Prosecution Service; a number of supporters began camping with him in order to deter attempts to evict him.

Foreign Policy 2000, a painting by Abby Jackson – one of the items confiscated by the police

In the early hours of 23 May 2006, 78 police arrived and removed all but one of Haw's placards citing continual breached conditions of the Serious Organised Crime and Police Act 2005 as their reason for doing so. Ian Blair (head of the Met. police at the time) later admitted that the operation to remove Haw's placards had run to £27,000 The actions of the police were criticised by members of the Metropolitan Police Authority at its monthly meeting on 25 May 2006. Haw appeared at Bow Street Magistrates' Court on 30 May, when he refused to enter a plea. The court entered a not guilty plea on his behalf, and he was bailed to return to court on 11 July 2006.

At a licensing hearing at Westminster City Council on 30 June 2006, Haw was granted limited permission to use a loudspeaker in the space allowed to him.

On 22 January 2007 Haw was acquitted on the grounds that the conditions he was accused of breaching were not sufficiently clear, and that they should have been imposed by a police officer of higher rank. District Judge Purdy ruled: "I find the conditions, drafted as they are, lack clarity and are not workable in their current form."

Documentary

Brian Haw was featured in the 2006 documentary, TerrorStorm. Director and narrator Alex Jones interviewed Haw and even joined in his protest of Parliament by answering Haw's inquiry, via megaphone, about the Statue of Liberty by saying she'd been picked up on suspicion that she was a member of Al-Qaeda. Haw (played by an actor) also appeared briefly in the 2007 drama The Trial of Tony Blair. There is also a documentary film made about him by Mahmoud Shoolizadeh, entitled A Man Called Brian, which shows interviews with him and analysed the Iraq war. This film has participated in some international film festivals.

In January 2007, former Turner Prize nominee Mark Wallinger recreated Brian Haw’s Parliament Square protest in its entirety as an exhibition at Tate Britain, titled State Britain. Running the length of the Duveen Gallery, State Britain is a painstaking reconstruction of the display confiscated by the Metropolitan Police in 2006. It includes 500 weather-worn banners, photos, peace flags, and messages from well-wishers collected by Haw over the duration of the Peace Protest, as well as his DIY shelter. In December 2007, Wallinger's work won the Turner Prize.

Director of Public Prosecutions v Haw

Director of Public Prosecutions v Haw

3. The issues raised by the case stated are as follows:

i) Whether the statutory powers available to the Commissioner of Police under section 134 of SOCA can be exercised by a subordinate on his behalf;

ii) Whether the conditions imposed on Mr Haw were ultra vires, or incompatible with Articles 10 and 11 of the European Convention on Human Rights ('ECHR'), as unreasonable or insufficiently clear.

Director of Public Prosecutions v Haw [2007] EWHC 1931 (Admin) [1] (6 August 2007). This was an adjourned hearing of an appeal by way of case stated by the Director of Public Prosecutions against a decision of District Judge Purdy in the City of Westminster Magistrates Court on 22 January 2007. The judge ruled that there was no case for the Respondent, Brian Haw, to answer on a charge of knowingly failing to comply with a condition imposed under section 134 of the Serious Organised Crime and Police Act 2005 ('SOCA') in respect of a demonstration in Parliament Square. The hearing before the Administrative Court was adjourned because Mr Haw had not been served with relevant documents in time to give them proper consideration.

2008 London mayoral elections

Press releases stated that Haw had declared himself a candidate in the London Mayoral Elections in May 2008, but he did not stand. On 17 April 2007 he joined Frank Maloney and Winston McKenzie in support of the Christian Choice candidate Alan Craig

Tucker v Director of Public Prosecutions (30 November 2007)

Tucker v Director of Public Prosecutions [2007] EWHC 3019 (Admin) (30 November 2007) This was an appeal by way of case stated. The appellant was convicted under section 132 (1) (c) of the Serious Organized Crimes and Police Act (SOCPA) of being within the jurisdiction of the Central Criminal Court, carried on unauthorised demonstration by herself in a public place in a designated area, namely Parliament Square. Her defence was that Mr Brian Haw had invited her to join him in his demonstration. He gave evidence on her behalf to that effect. The magistrate said: "Had I accepted this evidence (which I did not) it would have been argued that the allegation that she had 'carried on an unauthorised demonstration by herself ..... ' could not have been made out, and further more (in my view incorrectly) that it would provide a defence by saying that as Mr Haw is safe from prosecution anyone who joins him is also safe." The question posed by the magistrate was: "Was it lawful under section 6 (1) HRA to convict the appellant?" The Administrative Court held that SOCPA was not incompatible with the European Convention on Human Rights (specifically, Articles 10 (freedom of expression) and 11 (freedom of assembly)), and Ms Tucker's conviction was therefore lawful.

January 2008 injury and arrest

On January 12, Haw was observing a protest against the Serious Organised Crime and Police Act, outside Downing Street. Seven people were arrested (including Haw), who said "I was filming the students lying down in the road when one officer stepped forward, as I was walking back, and pushed the camera with his hand. It struck my face." He accused the police of using "violent and humiliating force".

Directions hearing, 18 November 2008

Mr Haw sought a large number of directions from the court on the 18 November 2008. These are the decisions of the court:

• Haw, R (on the application of) v Southwark Crown Court & Ors [2009] EWHC 379 (Admin) (3 March 2009) [2]
• Director of Public Prosecutions v Haw [2007] EWHC 1931 (Admin) (6 August 2007) [3] Transcript of the full hearing before Lord Phillips of Worth Maltravers, CJ

25 May 2010 arrest

On 25 May 2010 the day of the State Opening of Parliament for the new Conservative-Liberal coalition government, Haw was arrested by police at 08:30am.

Illness

In September 2010, Haw, who is a lifelong chain smoker, was diagnosed with lung cancer. On 1 January 2011 he left England to receive treatment in Berlin. The treatment is being paid for by David Icke.

In culture

The London-based band XX Teens recorded a song "For Brian Haw", which was included on their album Welcome To Goon Island. The track includes a statement by Haw about his motivations for the protest.

Haw is featured in the short length documentary Maria: 24hr Peace Picket, made by Iranian film director Parviz Jahed about fellow peace campaigner Maria Gallastegui.

See also

• State Britain
• Serious Organised Crime and Police Act 2005 (SOCPA)
• Concepcion Picciotto, a Spanish-American protester who has lived in a similar peace camp outside the White House since the 1980s
• Mark Thomas
• Iraq sanctions

External links

• Brian Haw
• [4]
• Not the Queen's Speech
• Parliament Square Brian Haw's supporter's site
• Serious Organised Crime and Police Act, sections 132 et seq
• List of votes relating to Protesting in Parliament Square from Public Whip
• Brian Haw speaking about his 2000 days of protest (45mins approx) from Dissident Vox
• 3D Panorama of the peace protest (requires QuickTime)
• Metropolitan Police map of the exclusion zone
• http://www.guardian.co.uk/antiwar/story/0,,2004876,00.html
• Video showing his January 2008 arrest
• FredsVagt Christiansborg, the parallel demonstration in København, Danmark
• Video interview - Brian Haw in his own words