THE funeral of peace protestor Brian Haw took place yesterday (Friday, July 8).

Mr Haw, who died aged 62 from lung cancer, spent the last decade of his life campaigning against the deaths of innocent people from wars in Iraq, Afghanistan and, more recently, Libya, from his makeshift camp in Parliament Square.

Friends and family attended the ceremony for the Woodford Green-born protestor at 1.15pm in Redditch Crematorium, in Redditch, Worcestershire, where he lived, before heading to the Foxlydiate Arms pub to share their memories of the man.

His daughter, Catherine Fletcher, said before the funeral: “We would like to say a big thank you to everyone for their kind words and support at this awful time.”

She also told the BBC that she was "very proud" of him for "standing up for what he believed in", and said he attended her brother’s graduation and had come home now and then.

Mr Haw came to Parliament Square with a small sign and a grey, plastic chair, but this grew into an array of placards 40 metres wide, with signs donated from anti-establishment figures such as graffiti artist Banksy.

In 2007 he won the ‘Most influential political figure of the year’ Channel 4 award but was physically attacked by American soldiers, sued repeatedly by Westminster Council and arrested at least three times by police in attempts to silence him.

Despite these hardships, Mr Haw doggedly remained a thorn in the Government’s side, sacrificing his own happiness to try and bring some to others.

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