I suppose it’s a bit obvious to say that Brian Haw ought to be given a medal – like the one Barack Obama won. [1] I had a chat with him four years ago, and though I found the wild look in his eyes slightly off-putting, the twice-broken nose, fantastic battered helmet and, most of all, the photo exhibition of uranium-riddled Iraqi babies reminded me why I admired him so much. Now the police have moved him along on a day that was ‘supposed to celebrate British democracy’. [2] ‘Sam Fryers, 25, a former soldier who runs the camp’s IT tent, pitched in the shadow of Winston Churchill’s statue, said: “I can understand that it might look like an eyesore, but you have to think about the message … This is about getting the troops out of Afghanistan.”’
I still find it mind-boggling that MPs walk(ed) past Brian Haw’s display of melted babies and have only been able to think how untidy it all looks. Maybe they just never looked close enough. Maybe they thought the photos were mere drawings. Maybe they have no soul. Again, such an obvious thing to say…