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IMMEDIATE PRESS RELEASE

28 APRIL 2005

PROSPECTIVE MP BRINGS SPEAKERS CORNER TO PARLIAMENT SQUARE

Events: Sunday 1 May 2pm, Parliament Square; Friday 29 April 3.30pm, 8 Ogle St

As the issue of Iraq and the legality of the invasion finally moves centre stage in the run up to the election, veteran peace campaigner, Brian Haw, is taking his long-held conviction that the war was illegal and immoral to the ballot box. Mr Haw is standing as an MP for the constituency of Cities of London and Westminster in the general Election on 5 May 2005.

With a week to go before polling, Mr Haw, the Parliament Square peace protestor, who has spent nearly four years in a continuous anti-war protest vigil opposite the Houses of Parliament (1), is asserting that the war in Iraq and Britain’s foreign policy as a whole must take centre stage in the decision of who is fit to govern a civilised nation.

The considerable support Mr Haw has received not least in terms of financial support for his election campaign from a broad cross section of the community show that far from being a marginal concern, the war and occupation is absolutely central to many voters as well.

Mr Haw says, “650 MPs are chosen by 60 million of us. Over 400 voted to go to war and destroy the lives of others. Let’s have truly ‘honourable’ MPs with integrity and independence, not subject to a party whip. I’ve shown my active commitment to peace and justice for nearly four years now. So many have fought so hard across the world to gain their right to vote. I hope people will use their vote for peace, for justice, for people.”

In the spirit of public debate around his protest vigil, Mr Haw is calling on all other prospective candidates in the constituency to join him for an afternoon of discussion in Parliament Square to discuss these and other issues relevant to the concerns of Westminster and City voters.

Unlike any other candidate currently standing Mr Haw can be visited in Parliament Square at any time making his campaign the most democratic in the country.

Mr Haw decided to stand partly in response to the Government’s attempts to remove his protest from opposite Parliament (2). One of their last acts before the dissolution of Parliament was to pass the Serious Organised Crime and Police Act which includes a number of measures which will severely restrict protest within 1km of Parliament. Mr Haw is the main target of this part of the Act (3).

Events:
Sunday 1 May 2pm, Parliament Square - An invitation to meet, discuss and share with parliamentary candidates in Parliament Square
with Brian Haw, Independent, Parliament Square Peace Campaign, Tristan Smith, Green Party and other candidates invited.
Friday 29 April 3.30pm, 8 Ogle St - hustings

Brian Haw can be visited in Parliament Square for interviews. His manifesto can be read on www.parliament-square.org.uk/candidate.htm

Or contact info@parliament-square.org.uk, www.parliament-square.org.uk.

1. Brian Haw has been in Parliament Square continuously since 2nd June 2001 in protest against the US/UK support of economic sanctions in Iraq, the invasion of Iraq and the on-going ‘war on terror’.
2. On 4th October 2002 Westminster City Council's High Court proceedings against him for obstruction of the highway were dismissed on the grounds that Brian was exercising his freedom of expression and assembly under the Human Rights Act.
3. The text of the Act can be read at: http://www.legislation.hmso.gov.uk/acts/acts2005/20050015.pdf