Twenty years ago Parliament passed a law that was, in part, designed to get rid of an annoying man by banning protests within 1 kilometre of Parliament Square. Yesterday, to the sound of a bell ringing, a statue of that man, Brian Haw, was unveiled in south London, close to the 1km boundary that had been created to get rid of him in 2005.

Brian Haw was a campaigner who started a peace protest on the grass at Parliament Square in Westminster in June 2001 and stayed there for nearly ten years, his makeshift encampment became a familiar sight to anyone visiting the area.

Fed up with his megaphone and the appearance of his camp, the government passed the wide-ranging Serious Organised Crime and Police Act 2005 in 2005. This Act also banned unauthorised protests within 1km of Parliament Square. Hoping this would get rid of him, the law turned out to ben’t retrospective and didn’t apply to existing protests.

So Brian remained there, a visible thorn in the side of politicians who disliked his messy camp on their pristine square.

A chain smoker, he died from cancer in June 2011.

After his death, the artist, Amanda Ward, designed a scale model maquette for a possible full-size sculpture of Brian. Although funding was raised, it was made fairly clear that there was no chance of it being erected in Parliament Square.

Sitting in storage, in February 2023, a group of supporters and friends, including Brian Haw’s fellow campaigner, the late Michael Culver, and actor and friend Mark Rylance came up with another idea.

As it happened, a former hospital that treated soldiers suffering from shell shock during WWI and is now occupied by a history charity had recently refurbished its frontage and added space for a work of art. The original intention was to have a regularly changing work of art installed there.

However, it’s also directly opposite the Imperial War Museum (IWM), and the space was gifted to become a permanent site — not for the full-size sculpture but for the original maquette.

At the unveiling, Sir Mark Rylance rang a bell, explaining that Brian used to ring a bell outside Parliament, until the police were ordered to remove the clanger and hand the bell back. As he said the statue was a moment to the put the clanger back into the bell.

When planning the installation, it needed planning permission, and the IWM not only didn’t object, but it was pointed out that the museum commemorates the sacrifice of soldiers rather than celebrating them, and it has an extensive collection dedicated to campaigns against war as much as it collects the apparatus of it.

The placement of the statue of the peace campaigner opposite the IWM was described as the two being dance partners.

Sculptor Amanda Ward said, “I made the form of Brian Haw at the stage in his life when he was worn down from the sheer punishment of living on the pavement for so long, let alone making loud, persistent vocal protests and enduring countless attempts by politicians and police to eject him. By that time, he needed crutches for support and he quite liked the comparison with the statue of Winston Churchill in Parliament Square, which, of course, has a walking stick. I’m sure he would approve of his figure standing here now. It has taken a long time to reach this point, but I’m glad we have. Brian’s message is as relevant today as it was when he was part of everyday life in Westminster.”

The sculpture can be found outside the former hospital, now the School of Historical Dress. Inside, there’s a free exhibition of photos from Brian’s life. The exhibition is open until 23rd March from 11am to 5pm and is free to visit.

Brian Haw’s archive is now held by the London Museum.