Parliament protestor wins round 11 (From This Is Local London)

Parliament protestor wins round 11

3:37pm Monday 22nd January 2007 in

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APPLAUSE broke out in court as peace campaigner Brian Haw won his latest legal battle to maintain his five-year protest outside parliament.

This time, police had claimed they feared terrorists could plant bombs among his placards.

On 23 May last year, 78 officers swooped on Mr Haw in a dawn raid that cost £27,000. They arrested him, along with three of his supporters, and seized most of the banners in his 40-metre display on Parliament Square.

The 57-year-old campaigner, from Redditch in Worcestershire, was charged with breaching the Serious Organised Crime and Police Act (Socpa) - which was adapted specifically to end Mr Haw's vigil.

The case was the 11th to be brought against the 57-year-old father of seven children since he started his vigil in 2001.

But today District Judge Quentin Purdy ruled Mr Haw did not violate rules imposed on him by police under the Act.

The Met police had ordered him to keep his placards within a space of 3 metres high, 3 metres wide and 1 metre deep.

In court it was claimed that he had failed to supervise the site with "diligence and care" to keep anyone from planting an explosive device there.

However, the judge found the police conditions were invalid because they were unclear.

Also, the eventual raid was ordered by an officer of lower rank than the Met's commissioner.

"The commissioner cannot delegate his powers under Socpa as he purported to do," Judge Purdey said at the City of Westminster magistrates' court.

"Additionally I find the conditions drafted as they are lack clarity and are not workable in their current form."

He added: "Therefore I uphold the submission of no case to answer and dismiss this summons."