- Campaigner loses fight against lung cancer
- He had been receiving treatment in Germany
- Veteran protester dogged UK authorities
By Rebecca Camber 20th June 2011
Brian Haw has died during treatment for lung cancer
An anti-war campaigner who spent ten years camped outside the Houses of Parliament has died of lung cancer.
Brian Haw, 62, set up his ramshackle site in June 2001 as a one-man protest against British military action in Iraq and, later, Afghanistan.
He became a familiar face to MPs and a hero to civil rights campaigners, but his tent and collection of horrific pictures of war victims, accompanied by slogans such as ‘baby killers’, offended many.
But Mr Haw and his followers fought off all legal attempts to remove the camp from Parliament Square, although he was limited in the hours he could use a megaphone to attack government policies.
It began as a response to economic sanctions and British and American bombing raids on Iraq, but his angry messages daubed on hand-written posters grew after the invasion of Afghanistan and Iraq.
This month he marked ten years living on the square.
The protester died in Germany on Saturday where he had been receiving treatment.
Yesterday his devastated family paid tribute to the father of seven, releasing this statement: ‘It is with deepest regret that I inform you that our father, Brian, passed away this morning.
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Persistent protest: Mr Haw kept up his campaign for more than a decade, marking the tenth anniversary of his camp just three weeks ago
HAW'S BATTLES IN COURT TO STOP HIS CAMP BEING MOVED ON
Sucessive attempts to move Brian Haw frim his makeshift camp failed afterthe High court said it would be a breach of his human rights.
In 2002, Westminster City Council tried to prosecute Mr Haw for causing an obstruction, but the case was thrown out after it was ruled that camp banners did not impede the public.
And even when politicians amended the law to outlaw unlicensed protests, Mr Haw was able to keep up his campaign thanks to a legal loophole.
In the 2005 general election Mr Haw stood as a candidate in the Cities of London and Westminster in order to further his campaign.
He won 298 votes, making a speech against the ongoing presence of UK troops in Iraq at the declaration of the result.
Last year, bailiffs moved on a number of other protest groups from Parliament Square Gardens, but again Mr Haw escaped eviction because he was camped on the pavement, not the lawn.
He was also arrested last year when police carried out security sweeps in the area ahead of the Queen's Speech.
And in April Mr Haw faced another battle when officials tried to evict the huddle of tents, tarpaulin and placards - described by some as 'an eyesore' - ahead of the wedding of Prince William and Kate Middleton at nearby Westminster Abbey.
‘As you know he was battling lung cancer, and was having treatment in Germany.
‘He left us in his sleep and in no pain, after a long, hard fight.’
Supporters and MPs flocked to Twitter to pay tribute.
The Speaker’s wife, Sally Bercow posted a number of Tweets, saying: ‘Sad to hear Brian Haw has died.
‘His peace camp in Parly Sq was a good thing (in my humble opinion-- many here would beg to differ).’
She added: ‘Hoping Westminster Council might put up a blue plaque: Brian Haw, peace campaigner, lived here 2001 - 2011.’
Haw was the son of a soldier who was one of the first to enter the Bergen-Belsen concentration camp after it was liberated from the Nazis.
Haw spent time in the merchant navy and worked as a carpenter, but his evangelical Christian faith drove him to seek out suffering.
He visited Northern Ireland during the Troubles and travelled to the killing fields of Cambodia.
Haw also worked with troubled youngsters in Redditch, Worcestershire where he lived with his wife Kay and their seven children.
Haw told journalists that he had left his family to campaign for other families suffering in war zones.
‘I want to go back to my own kids and look them in the face again, knowing that I’ve done all I can to try and save the children of Iraq and other countries who are dying because of my Government’s unjust, amoral, fear- and money-driven policies,’ he said.
Anti-establishment: Mr Haw's political position often led to run-ins with the law
‘These children and people of other countries are every bit as valuable and worthy of love as my precious wife and children.’
In his long fight against the Government, Haw became a beacon for civil rights campaigners.
In April 2002 Westminster City Council began legal action to remove him under the Highways Act, but the case never came to court.
The council later limited the hours he could use a megaphone to attack Government policies.
In 2005 the Serious Organised Crime and Police Act restricted the right to protest in designated areas within 1km of the Houses of Parliament
But the High Court ruled that Haw could apply to the police for permission to continue his demonstration.
High-profile support: Although many politicians condemned Mr Haw's tactics, he did win the backing of veteran Labour MP Tony Benn (left)
This was granted - but only with a series of conditions limiting the size of his protest site.
In 2006 police seized 90 per cent of Haw’s placards overnight on the grounds that he had breached these restrictions.
However, a judge later found that there was no case to answer.
This year the Greater London Authority successfully got permission to evict Haw from the grass area at the centre of Parliament Square.
Westminster Council is due later this year to go to court to try to get the demonstrators moved off the pavement too.
His protest was immortalised in January 2007 when former Turner Prize nominee Mark Wallinger recreated his camp at the Tate Britain gallery.
Haw also won a Channel 4 News award for Most Inspiring Political Figure in 2007.
Determined: Mr Haw pictured in the early days of his one-man campaign
Yesterday his collection of bleak war photos remained untouched.
Fellow members of the Parliament Square Peace Campaign said his legal battles had taken a toll on his health.
They released this statement: ‘Brian showed great determination and courage during the many long hard years he led his Peace Campaign in Parliament Square, during which it is well documented that he was relentlessly persecuted by the authorities which eventually took its toll on his health.
‘Parliament, the police, and courts etc, should forever be ashamed of their disgraceful behaviour towards Brian.’
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