Campaigners lobby for Brian Haw memorial
By Ian Dunt Follow @IanDunt
Brian Haw's decade-long protest in front of parliament should be celebrated with a memorial, campaigners have urged.
Anti-war activists and respectful observers are urging members of the public to write to their MP to convince them to support early day motion 1945, which would set up a "fitting permanent memorial" for the campaigner.
The EDM, proposed by rebel labour MP Jeremy Corbyn, said Mr Haw was a "formidable example of the possibilities for peaceful dissent at a time when civil liberties are being eroded and military power is being employed over negotiated peace".
Green party campaigner Jenny Jones, who used her positions on the London Assembly and Metropolitan Police Authority (MPA) to fight repeated legal threats against Mr Haw by mayor Boris Johnson, said Westminster Council "owes him a blue plaque at the very least, perhaps mounted on a small plinth directly facing east, towards the target of all his campaigning".
Mr Haw began his campaign over the conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan, but his solitary demonstration was later expanded to cover all war.
His marriage fell apart and various legal attempts against him failed, including one piece of legislation passed specifically by then-home secretary David Blunkett to have him removed.
The campaigner, who was a life long chain smoker, died last Saturday of throat cancer. Former Labour MP Tony Benn said his death "marks the end of a historic enterprise by a man who gave everything to support his beliefs".
