An activist known as “Stop\u00a0Brexit\u00a0Man” has been cleared of flouting a police ban after playing anti-Conservative and anti-Brexit\u00a0music outside parliament.<\/p>\n
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<\/a><\/strong> arrived for PMQs<\/a><\/strong>.<\/p>\n 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.<\/p>\n The court heard police approached Mr Bray on the traffic island at around 11.20am on 20 March 2024, minutes before Mr Sunak arrived.<\/p>\n 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.<\/p>\n 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.<\/p>\n 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.<\/p>\n 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.<\/p>\n ‘Lampooning the government is a long tradition’<\/strong><\/p>\n Deputy District Judge Anthony Woodcock said of Mr Bray: “He admitted that he is ‘anti-Tory’, which is his words.<\/p>\n “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.<\/p>\n “How he chooses to express those views is a matter for him.<\/p>\n “Lampooning the government through satire is a long tradition in this country.”<\/p>\n 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.<\/p>\n Read more from Sky News: 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.<\/p>\n Mr Bray is known for playing music in protest around Westminster.<\/p>\n
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