Britain’s noisiest protester to be silenced by new law on sound

UK: Britain’s noisiest protester, who has been bombarding Parliament with music and anti-Brexit slogans for years, faces being silenced after a new law on decibel levels came into effect Tuesday.

Steve Bray, 53, who uses a megaphone to target Boris Johnson and other ministers from a traffic island in Westminster in central London, said he has been warned by police to move away from his standard spot, or face a large fine and the confiscation of his megaphone — and even arrest — under fresh powers in the Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts Act.

Bray has drawn the ire of Members of Parliament, who are bombarded by Bray’s music blasted through a speaker just metres away. He regularly plays the Italian protest song “Bella Ciao,” as well as the Soviet-era Russian national anthem, and sometimes “Bye Bye Boris” to the tune of “Bye Bye Baby” by the Bay City Rollers. Bray — who started his vigil in 2017 against Britain’s decision to leave the European Union — was well known to the public as he often photo bombs in the backdrop of political interviews.

– BLOOMBERG