Stop Brexit Man will NOT be silenced: Pro-EU activist blares music from sound system in Westminster a day after speaker was seized by police under ‘noisy protest’ laws
- Activist Steve Bray returned to Parliament today with new speakers
- The failed Lib Dem candidate had his music system confiscated yesterday
- He was told he couldn’t conduct a ‘noisy protest’ outside Westminster
- The pro-EU activist told followers that he’s bought three new speakers in protest
A pro-EU activist famed as the ‘Stop Brexit Man’ who blasts loud music and abused MPs outside Parliament has returned – just a day after he was silenced by police as new protest laws came into force.
Despite the failed Lib Dem parliamentary candidate Steve Bray having his powerful music system confiscated yesterday, he was spotted in Westminster this morning blaring songs from a speaker.
Mr Bray, in his distinctive yellow ribbon tophat, was seen in front of Parliament continuing his campaign while promising to stage a protest ‘twice as loud.’
He told his followers today: ‘I’ve just ordered 3 new amplifiers of the same type. It’s all they had in stock! Thanks to all of you.’
The ‘Stop Brexit Man’ said he plans to decamp from a traffic island to the pavement across the road, after police officers showed him a map of the designated area where noisy protesting is now forbidden.
He said on Wednesday: ‘They basically showed me the map, showed me that this island is now on the map, but I’ve established the way they’ve done the map, they’ve taken that corner off it. So, I can go there.
‘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. In fact, I’m going to wire eight together.’
The activist returned to Westminster armed with a megaphone and speaker today
Dressed in his usual attire, Mr Bray was joined by protesters just a day after his sound system was confiscated by police
Brazen Steve Bray (right) arrived outside Westminster today despite having his sound system confiscated yesterday
He said that officers threatened that they will seize his amplifier again – arguing that the corner is still part of the designated area where noisy protests are prohibited.
Mr Bray was playing the 1975 Bay City Rollers song Bye Bye Baby overlaid with the lyrics ‘bye bye Boris’ as protesters loudly banged on tins and waved EU flags.
Under the Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts Act, which came into force yesterday, Mr Bray was told by the Metropolitan Police that he could not conduct a ‘noisy protest’ within a designated area outside the palace of Westminster.
Failed Lib Dem parliamentary candidate Steve Bray accused police of harassment yesterday as he was prevented from setting up his powerful music system in Westminster. But that has not stopped him – as he was spotted making his way to Parliament this morning
Police seized his speakers yesterday – but Mr Bray told his followers this morning that he’s already ordered three new ones to replace them
He added that he was ‘not a happy chap, getting harassed a lot’, before seeing a police officer filming the scene and shouting ‘up yours Priti Patel’ at the camera (file picture)
From Port Talbot to Parliament: EU fanatic’s one-man protest
Steve Bray has been making noise outside Parliament since September 2017.
The coin collector from Port Talbot initially become part of the landscape on Westminster’s College Green, with his colourful ensemble of a EU-inspired top hat and a Union Flag cape regularly seen lurking in front of TV cameras.
When the grandfather first shot on to the Westminster scene to interrupt news reports by floating behind interviewees with his anti-Brexit signs, the broadcasters forked out for raised towers to keep him out of shot.
But he continued to heckle politicians and blast music at Parliament, despite vowing to stop in 2019.
But his attempt to enter politics proper failed. Standing for the Lib Dems at the 2019 election in Cynon Valley in Wales, he came sixth with fewer than 1,000 votes and lost his deposit.
While the daily protest may seem a thankless task for the numismatist, who uprooted from his Welsh home, Mr Bray has raised thousands of pounds in donations from Remain activists to sustain his comfortable lifestyle.
It was revealed in 2019 that he had moved into a plum Westminster townhouse opposite Jacob Rees-Mogg, after receiving a handsome lump sum from Remainer plumbing mogul Charlie Mullins.
One of his most memorable spats was with Theresa May’s former deputy Damian Green who Mr Bray had asked how he felt about the crunch withdrawal deal vote.
Mr Green refused to answer and said: ‘No you can’t, because you’ve just tried to shout over an interview I’ve done like you do everyone else.
‘In a competitive field, you are the biggest w***ker.’
He had been playing loud music and rambling abuse at politicians for years, either side of a failed bid to win a seat for the Lib Dems in his native Wales at the 2019 election.
The 52-year-old did not take the news badly, telling polite police officers they were ‘a bunch of fascists’ as they explained the new rules to him.
He added that he was ‘not a happy chap, getting harassed a lot’, before seeing a police officer filming the scene and shouting ‘up yours Priti Patel’ at the camera.
He later filmed himself approaching a car carrying Health Secretary Sajid Javid, tweeting: ‘I’m not relenting or stopping. Nothing has changed.’
But minutes later he tweeted a video showing police moving in and removing his sound system, leaving him to shout unaided.
A Scotland Yard spokesman said: ‘The man was using the equipment in a zone where the use of amplified equipment is prohibited.
‘He was spoken to by officers on multiple occasions in relation to specific legislation regarding the use of the amplifying equipment and that it would be seized if he persisted.’
The statement added: ‘He was also reported for the offence. (This means that he will be considered for prosecution for the offence).’
The laws came as part of the Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts Act, which included measures to curtail noisy protests.
Officers said the equipment was being seized under section 145 of The Police Reform and Social Responsibility Act 2011, which on Tuesday was extended to a wider area around the Houses of Parliament.
Mr Bray started his one-man demonstration shouting about Brexit but has since focused on targeting Boris Johnson and Conservatives.
His set list of songs from artists including the Bay City Rollers, the Sex Pistols, the Fun Boy Three and Sam Cook, on a heavy rotation.
He plays regularly outside the palace on Wednesdays when he knows Mr Johnson will attend for Prime Minister’s Questions, but also turns up on other days.
People working in the side of the Parliamentary estate facing his protest have made noise complains but local authorities were hitherto unable to take action against a legitimate political protest.
He had been playing loud music and rambling abuse at politicians for years, either side of a failed bid to win a seat for the Lib Dems in his native Wales at the 2019 election
Mr Bray was yesterday silenced by police as new protest laws came into force
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