It would be fair to say that Boris is not Brian Haw’s biggest fan. And, I imagine, Mr Haw is not the world’s greatest admirer of the Mayor either.
Nine years ago, Mr Haw defeated a Westminster Council action to have the peace campaigner evicted from his ‘camp’ in Parliament Square. This is London reports that ‘in 2005, despite a law being passed more or less specifically to get rid of him, he won police permission to stay.’ And, in June 2010, he beat another eviction order.
Still, multiple defeats haven’t deterred Boris and the Mayor is after him again. This time, Bozza (and Dave) are concerned that the camp will look like an eyesore on the day of the Royal Wedding, and they are concerned that tourists won’t want to come to London if they are likely to be faced by a scruffy sort campaigning for world peace.
This is London continues: “With the prospect of Mr Haw’s encampment looking simply ghastly on Kate and Wills’s big day – Boris Johnson is again turning to the law to have him removed.” The leader of Westminster Council has said: “In relation to the royal wedding, Parliament may have to consider emergency legislation.”
Do we really have to go to these lengths just to evict a man who has been peacefully protesting for almost a decade? Is Mr Haw really causing that much damage to the capital’s tourist industry?
The newspaper isn’t sure. “The Prime Minister frets, the tourist board schemes, and local and national authorities scour the statute books for excuses to get rid of him, while top human-rights lawyers rally to his side: and there he [Mr Haw] sits, a still point in the turning world.”