Stop Brexit Man silenced by police: Pro-EU protester Steve Bray confiscates speaker under new law after years of loud music and abuse at Parliament – but he is threatened with arrest for refusing to stop
- The failed Lib Dem parliamentary candidate accused the police of harassment
- Priti Patel’s law on police, crime, sentencing and courts came into force today
- Bray said he could not hold a ‘noisy protest’ inside area outside Parliament
A pro-EU activist known as the ‘Stop Brexit Man’ who blew loud music and abused MPs outside Parliament was silenced today by police officer when new protest laws came into force.
Failed Lib Dem parliamentary candidate Steve Bray today accused police of harassment as he confiscated his powerful music system in Westminster.
Under the Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts Act, which went into effect today, he was told by the Metropolitan Police this morning that he could not hold a ‘noisy protest’ within a designated area outside Westminster Palace.
He has been playing loud music and abusing politicians for years, on both sides of a failed attempt to win a seat for the Lib Dems in his native Wales in the 2019 election.
The 52-year-old did not take the news badly and told police officers they were “a bunch of fascists” while explaining the new rules to him.
He added that he ‘was not a happy man, much harassed’, before seeing a police officer filming the scene and shouting ‘up yours Priti Patel’ at the camera.
He later filmed himself approaching a car in which Sajid Javid, the health secretary, was driving, tweeting: ‘I’m not giving up or stopping. Nothing has changed. ‘
But minutes later, he tweeted a video showing police moving in and removing his sound system, causing him to scream without help.
Failed Lib Dem parliamentary candidate Steve Bray today accused police of harassment for preventing him from setting up his powerful music system in Westminster.
The 52-year-old did not take the news badly and told police officers they were “a bunch of fascists” while explaining the new rules to him.
He added that he was ‘not a happy man, much harassed’, before seeing a police officer filming the scene and shouting ‘up yours Priti Patel’ at the camera (file photo).
Mr Bray started shouting his one-man demonstration over Brexit, but has since focused on targeting Boris Johnson and conservatives.
His compilation of songs by artists including the Bay City Rollers, the Sex Pistols, the Fun Boy Three and Sam Cook, on a heavy rotation.
He regularly plays outside the palace on Wednesdays when he knows that Mr. Johnson will attend for prime minister’s questions, but will also show up on other days.
People working in the side of the parliamentary estate facing his protest have made noise complaints, but local authorities have so far been unable to act against a legitimate political protest.
Today, a crime of intentional or reckless public nuisance is now available in an attempt to quell disruptive ‘guerrilla protests’.
This is the kind of tactic used by climate change protesters who have taken their campaigns to the streets.
Mr Bray is also known for standing in the lap of live television broadcasts outside the Houses of Parliament while waving his anti-Brexit posters.
He was accused of abusing politicians – which he denies – and was also on the receiving end of abuse.
In May, a Tory MP threatened to sue him, claiming he had wrongly suggested he was the politician caught while watching pornography in the Commons.
In a tweet that has now been deleted, it appears that Mr. Bray gives an indication of the identity of the anonymous MP. As the story began, Mr. Bray posted a photo of a famous Tory and a link to a previous story about him, adding: ‘Has a lot of relevance now, maybe not the story, but the person !! ! … I’m just going to check my phone for some interesting sites. ‘
But it became clear 48 hours later that it was still a politician when Tiverton and Honiton MP Neil Parish admitted that he had used his phone to watch pornography in the Commons room.
Also in May, the anti-Brexit campaigner posted a video of himself interrupting a dinner at the Welsh Tory conference on Friday before being bundled out of the room.