RENOWNED anti-Brexit protester Steve Bray has returned to Westminster to continue campaigning after police tried to shut down his demonstration on Tuesday.
As new anti-protest laws came into force for the first time, police seized the former LibDem candidate’s equipment. According to Bray, otherwise known as “Stop Brexit” man, officers threatened to take his amplifier again if he persisted.
Video footage showed other officers telling the activist he faces arrest for playing music using the speakers in the area, under the Tories’ Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts Act. The legislation includes measures to limit particularly noisy demonstrations in designated areas.
Reports of officers swooping in on Bray led to criticism from his supporters. One Labour MP, Grahame Morris, condemned the action to “silence” him.
“By tomorrow there could be many others who have never demonstrated previously who are subject to prosecution under this law,” he warned the Commons.
Bella Ciao on the amp at Parliament …. We are not going away and we are never giving in to fascism. #UpYoursPriti pic.twitter.com/lKEQcgM6Bd
— Steve Bray Activist Against Brexit +Corrupt Tories (@snb19692) June 29, 2022
But despite the concerns, Bray was back outside the Parliament on Wednesday. He told journalists he had ordered brand new amplifiers to increase the noise levels of his protests and was planning new demonstration tactics.
“I’ve got more amps on order and I’m going to link four amps together – not this week, maybe next week – and it’ll be twice as loud as it was here to compensate for the move to the corner," he told the media.
“In fact I’m going to wire eight together.”
He was blasting the Italian anti-fascist anthem Bella Ciao – originally a 19th-century protest song, later adopted by those opposed to Nazism during the Second World War. It continues to be sung as an anti-fascist song all around the world.
Sharing footage of him singing along to the tune on Twitter, Bray said: “Bella Ciao on the amp at Parliament …. We are not going away and we are never giving in to fascism.”
It emerged that the designated area where noisy protests are restricted had been extended, so while Bray moved further away from the Palaces to stage his demonstration he continued to be approached by police on Wednesday.
A police officer told Bray: “Your requirement was given to you yesterday and I have to remind you it lasts for 90 days.
“So if you play this music again within this area, as the public have ready access to it as it’s a public highway … this equipment will be seized.”
Bray said he could avoid putting the equipment in the public highway by putting the speaker system on the roof.
He was then interrupted by former Blair press chief Alastair Campbell who came to watch the situation unfold.
The media figure told the activist: “Good luck mate, you’re doing more good than a lot of those f*****s in there about drawing attention to those liars and crooks.
“So keep going mate. You take care.”
The pair then shook hands.
