An activist known as “Stop Brexit Man” has been cleared of flouting a police ban after playing anti-Conservative and anti-Brexit music outside parliament.
Steve Bray, 56, from Port Talbot, South Wales, played edits of The Muppet Show and Darth Vader’s theme last year before then-prime minister Rishi Sunak arrived for PMQs.
After the not guilty verdict at Westminster Magistrates’ Court on Monday, Mr Bray looked at his supporters in the public gallery, one of whom gave him a thumbs up.
The court heard police approached Mr Bray on the traffic island at around 11.20am on 20 March 2024, minutes before Mr Sunak arrived.
Officers handed him a map and a notice that warned he was prohibited from playing the speakers in the controlled area under a by-law.
The music resumed intermittently and shortly after 12.30pm, officers seized the speakers, his trial at City Of London Magistrates’ Court had earlier been told.
Mr Bray, who represented himself, denied the charge and told a previous hearing that playing music was part of his “fundamental right to protest” and it was played “sporadically” rather than all day.
He was found not guilty of failing without reasonable excuse to comply with a direction given under the Police Reform And Social Responsibility Act 2011.
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‘Lampooning the government is a long tradition’
Deputy District Judge Anthony Woodcock said of Mr Bray: “He admitted that he is ‘anti-Tory’, which is his words.
“He believes his is an important message to disseminate. He needs the volume that he uses to get the message across from Parliament Street to the Palace Of Westminster.
“How he chooses to express those views is a matter for him.
“Lampooning the government through satire is a long tradition in this country.”
The Muppets and Darth Vader themes were used “as the prime minister came in, which is what we always did for Rishi – apparently he’s a Star Wars fan”, Mr Bray had previously told the court.
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Several witnesses described to the court the negative impact of Mr Bray’s music, heard as high as the sixth floor in nearby buildings, after which the defendant apologised.
Mr Bray is known for playing music in protest around Westminster.
The music included D:Ream’s Things Can Only Get Better at the gates of Downing Street when Mr Sunak announced the general election in the rain last May.
