Brian Haw protesting in Parliament Square

OSCAR-winning actor Sir Mark Rylance is leading a campaign to put up a statue to the legendary anti-war protester Brian Haw.

Mr Haw lived in Parliament Square for nearly 10 years protesting against the Labour government’s decision to back the United States’ invasion of Iraq.

Politicians tried to get rid of him by introducing an exclusion zone for protests close to the House of Commons.

But in an ironic twist, the 2005 legislation did not apply to him because his camp predated it.

The proposal is for a small, 78cm-high bronze maquette, which has already been created by sculptor Amanda Ward, on a plinth opposite the big guns of the Imperial War Museum in Lambeth.

It would sit just outside the exclusion zone created in 2005 in an attempt by authorities to move Mr Haw away from the seat of government.

The bronze by sculptor Amanda Ward

Sir Mark, who won an Academy Award for The Bridge of Spies, said: “I had a lot of jobs in the West End and I live in south London so my route home after the show… often was through Parliament Square. And so, when I was on my bicycle, I would always stop and have a word with him, and give him 20 quid or whatever I had in my pocket.”

The anti-war campaigner is a patron of the Stop the War coalition and charity Peace Direct. The group hopes to raise £50,000 from the public appeal and is asking people to donate £1 each.

Mr Haw would face attacks in his tent and his health took a dive, leaving him on crutches for the last year of his life.

He died from cancer in 2011 aged 62.

The appeal, on the Crowdfunder website, has already raised more than raised £12,000.
www.crowdfunder.co.uk/p/brian-haw-memorial-1