Latest news with #StopBrexitMan
Metro
22-04-2025
- Politics
- Metro
Why do we keep quiet about the noise around us?
In MetroTalk: One reader says noisy protests and amplified buskers are music to no one's ears. (Picture: REUTERS/Peter Nicholls) Do you agree with our readers? Have your say on these MetroTalk topics and more in the comments. Turn it down a notch An activist known as Stop Brexit Man has been cleared of flouting a ban on playing music outside parliament (Metro, Apr 15). To view this video please enable JavaScript, and consider upgrading to a web browser that supports HTML5 video Up Next Previous Page Next Page Steve Bray used to play the Muppet Show music and Darth Vader's theme through a loudspeaker as Rishi Sunak arrived for Prime Minister's Questions. A good start in reducing noise as a public nuisance would be to not permit the use of any amplification in a public space, beyond a megaphone and a music instrument, without a special licence (which should be seldom given). Our country has poor productivity and I can't imagine how difficult it must be to try to work in nearby offices when amplified, loud music is played, for example, in Trafalgar Square or Westminster Square. At Tube stations, buskers play music with amplification and it is extraordinary the Mayor of London allows it. One can't always hear the station PA because of this noise and I'm concerned emergency announcements may not be heard clearly, endangering public safety. One can only imagine that the deputy district judge who backed the activist is never affected by loud music in his court or office. Lester May, Camden Town Was that really about the Pope? To view this video please enable JavaScript, and consider upgrading to a web browser that supports HTML5 video Up Next Previous Page Next Page Sir Keir Starmer said Pope Francis – who died on Monday – was 'a Pope for the poor, the downtrodden and the forgotten' (Metro, Tue). Was he talking about the people of the UK, I wonder – ie pensioners and war veterans? Martin, South Croydon It's not 'bouncing' anymore Delia El-Hosayny, of Derby, the UK's first female bouncer thinks the profession should be renamed (Credits: Tom Maddick / SWNS) In response to Delboy from Yorkshire (MetroTalk, Mar 24), who mocked the woman who described her job as an 'ejection technician' rather than 'club bouncer'. I would have agreed with the derogatory word 'bouncer' 15 years ago but the ship that brought in the bouncers has since sailed. Where are all the 'bouncers' in the supermarkets, stores and public spaces 'bouncing' out shoplifters and feral youths running amok? What we have now been presented with over the past 18 years are 'security officers' trained to manage and reduce risks and conflicts, as opposed to 'bouncing' customers out of licensed premises. The reason or reasons why the majority of these door staff and security seem timid or risk-averse is another discussion entirely. Dee Folarin- Oshile, Lecturer In Security And Conflict Senior citizens, not pensioners Who wants to be defined by the fact they've reached pension age? (Credits: Getty Images) I would just like to offer the view that we should not refer to people over the age of 66 as 'pensioners' but what we always used to call them – 'senior citizens'. This is a far more dignified and appropriate title for a person who has lived a life and reflects the fact that they are far more than just someone in receipt of money from the government or a private pension fund. I wonder how we dropped the original title in the first place? Trevor, Worthing Put the ball in the right place Are the referees tampering with the game? (Picture: Getty) When are the football authorities going to stop this ridiculous behaviour of placing the ball outside the quarter circle when players are taking a corner kick? The number of goals scored from the ball being in the wrong position is disgraceful, including Aberdeen's first goal in Saturday's Scottish cup semi-final. Allan Somerville, Bonnyrigg Scooters aren't toys Are we now selling scooters to children? On an evening shopping trip in a London suburb I was horrified to encounter a lad of about ten speedily riding along the pavement complete with a bright front light. It seems that those born since the turn of the century have 'speed in the blood', perhaps because they have spent their earlier childhood being ferried around in cars. It explains how some of them regard the pavements as their natural right of way, regardless of other users. And of course there is never a policeman around. Antony Porter, London Arrow MORE: You can buy these London homes with a deposit under £10,000 Arrow MORE: H&M launches new Move running collection ahead of the London marathon
The Independent
15-04-2025
- Entertainment
- The Independent
Britain still has free speech – as Steve Bray has shown loud and clear
S teve Bray, known to most as the 'Stop Brexit Man' after his years-long noisy campaign against Britain's departure from the European Union, has won his latest legal case. He has been cleared of failing to follow a police order, namely to stop being quite so loud in the environs of parliament. Westminster Magistrates' Court, in quiet deliberation, agreed with Bray's arguments that he has the right to protest at any given level of decibels. Deputy District Judge Anthony Woodcock said Bray 'admitted that he is 'anti-Tory' ... he believes his is an important message to disseminate. He needs the volume that he uses to get the message across from Parliament Street to the Palace of Westminster.' After nearly a decade as a fixture on the streets and public spaces around Whitehall – and too divisive and annoying to be termed a 'national treasure' – Bray has at least become a part of Britain's constitution… How did he end up in court this time? By offering a supposedly inappropriate musical accompaniment to then prime minister Rishi Sunak's entry into the House of Commons on 20 March 2024. It was not a legal argument, but Bray justified blasting the Darth Vader theme in the general direction of the Palace of Westminster on the grounds that Sunak is a Star Wars fan (a matter of public knowledge and not in doubt). When he followed up with the Muppet Show theme during Prime Minister's Questions, police confiscated his loudspeakers. Officers had previously issued Bray a map of permitted areas for his protests, using a Westminster Council by-law. But that was no match for the amateur human rights lawyer. He told them the map was inaccurate and, as an obiter dictum, that the officers could 'stick it where the sun don't shine.' If authorities now choose to appeal this week's judgment, the arguments could go all the way to the European Court of Human Rights (which, let's face it, he'd enjoy … though in his absence Westminster would be a bit more tranquil.) What does it mean for protests? It proves that, contrary to what Elon Musk and JD Vance claim, free speech is alive and well in Britain – loud and clear. Is everyone pleased by the court ruling? By no means. A price of (extremely loud) free speech is the disruption to anyone working or living in the area, who must endure a racket which, like a bad busker knocking out Oasis, could be viewed as a form of torture. In court, Bray apologised to those affected. Lee Anderson, the Tory/Brexit Party/Reform UK MP who sometimes had testy exchanges with Bray, condemned the judgment: 'As well as being a public nuisance, Steve Bray is also known as a sponging parasite who relies on dimwitted do-gooders to subsidise his lifestyle. I suspect Bray is probably a person of interest to the HMRC as are many others who scrounge an existence through political campaigning. It is time for transparency and people like Bray should publish all their donations just like a charity has to. I suspect he has trousered hundreds of thousands of pounds. It's about time he spent some of it on new clothes and toiletries.' Anderson provided no evidence for his claims, and his arguments did not address the legal right to say things that Reform UK might not like. What are Steve Bray's greatest hits? Plenty of D:Ream's 'Things Can Only Get Better' as Labour came closer to power, while Liz Truss had to compete with Kaiser Chiefs' 'I Predict a Riot' during appearances in Downing Street in her brief premiership. Most notably, Yakety Sax – used on The Benny Hill Show – eradicated any vestigial dignity during Boris Johnson's resignation statement. Where do we go from here? Protest and survive. Steve Bray's case adds to the corpus of legal protections for awkward dissent. Brian Haw, the man who spent about a decade living in a tent on Parliament Square in protest against the Iraq war, similarly survived numerous legal attempts to dislodge him. In 2005, then home secretary David Blunkett drafted an act of parliament apparently specially designed to end Haw's small and untidy encampment; the attempt failed because someone failed to make the legislation retrospective. Squares and streets around Westminster have always been the scenes of marches, protests – and the odd riot – and will continue to do so. For Bray, things can hardly get better; he'll be fine now, unless Lee Anderson ever gets to be home secretary.
Washington Post
14-04-2025
- Politics
- Washington Post
Britain's 'Stop Brexit Man' acquitted by judge over his musical protests outside Parliament
LONDON — An anti- Brexit activist who has spent years mounting a one-man protest outside Britain's Parliament won a court victory on Monday against a police attempt to pull the plug on his musical activities. A judge in London cleared Steve Bray , known as 'Stop Brexit Man,' of failing to comply with a police order to stop playing amplified music in Parliament Square on March 20, 2024.
The Independent
14-04-2025
- Entertainment
- The Independent
‘Stop Brexit Man' Steve Bray cleared of flouting police ban over Westminster music
An activist known as Stop Brexit Man has been cleared of flouting a police ban after playing anti-Conservative and anti-Brexit edits of The Muppet Show and Darth Vader's theme outside Parliament. Steve Bray, 56, was playing music on March 20 last year before then-prime minister Rishi Sunak arrived for Prime Minister's Questions. Police had approached Mr Bray when he was stood on a traffic island at around 11.20am, and handed him a map to warn him he wasn't allowed to play the speakers in the controlled area under a by-law, the court heard. He resumed playing the music intermittently and, over an hour later, officers seized the speakers. Mr Bray was found not guilty of failing without reasonable excuse to comply with a direction given under the Police Reform and Social Responsibility Act 2011 're prohibited activities in Parliament Square' at Westminster Magistrates' Court. After the verdict, the defendant, wearing a blue and white short-sleeved shirt looked at his supporters in the public gallery, one of whom gave him a thumbs up.
The Guardian
10-04-2025
- Politics
- The Guardian
‘Stop Brexit Man' apologises for ‘intimidating' Tory staffers with music
On a traffic island in Westminster, he played a song titled 'Brexit Tragedy' to the tune of The Beatles' Yellow Submarine, serenading MPs with the words: 'We all live in a Brexit tragedy, a Brexit tragedy, a Brexit tragedy.' Now, the anti-Brexit protester Steve Bray has apologised after hearing in court that his music made Suella Braverman's chief of staff feel 'exhausted', 'intimidated' and 'harassed'. Bray, who regularly plays his music outside parliament, became known as 'Stop Brexit Man' because he repeatedly interrupted news broadcasts, shouting 'stop Brexit'. The 56-year-old was in court after allegedly flouting a police ban by playing anti-Conservative and anti-Brexit edits of The Muppet Show and Darth Vader's theme tunes through amplifiers on 20 March last year. The music was part of his regular protest before prime minister's questions each Wednesday, the City of London magistrates court heard. Susan Colson, the chief of staff for Braverman, the former home secretary, said she would arrive early on Wednesdays 'so I had a little period of time which was quite peaceful'. Describing her job as 'quite complex', she said: 'You've got to concentrate, you've got to think what you are doing, so I did quite well until about 10 o'clock,' which was roughly when Bray would turn on the music. 'You couldn't ignore it' and 'really I could only stand it for about two or three hours or so', she said. 'By the time it came to lunchtime I was quite exhausted, and intimidated and harassed, and I just wanted to go home.' She continued: 'You feel a real victim of this.' An office manager to then Conservative MP Anna Firth also told the court: 'Wednesday is always the worst day of the week because we knew what we were going to be subjected to.' After hearing witnesses describe the negative impact of his music, heard as high as the sixth floor in nearby buildings, Bray apologised. During cross-examination, he told Colson: 'I would like to say sorry if you felt intimidated, that was never our intention.' The regular anti-Brexit demonstration has since been moved outside the controlled area, 10 metres away from the traffic island. Bray said they would have relocated there at the time had officers asked them to do so. Sign up to Headlines UK Get the day's headlines and highlights emailed direct to you every morning after newsletter promotion The prosecution alleges his music played in total for 40 minutes on 20 March. Police approached Bray on the traffic island at about 11.20am and said he was prohibited from playing the amplifiers in the controlled area, the court heard. The music resumed intermittently and just over an hour later, officers seized the speakers, the court was told. Bray, from Port Talbot, south Wales, has denied failing without reasonable excuse to comply with a direction given under the Police Reform and Social Responsibility Act 2011 're prohibited activities in Parliament Square'. The defendant said he has never previously been arrested or charged for protesting. The judge will give his verdict on 14 April at Westminster magistrates court.
