UK govt wins legal appeal against peace protester

LONDON, May 8 (Reuters) The British government won an appeal today in a legal battle against the country's most persistent peace protester, who has lived and slept outside parliament for five years.

Judges at London's court of appeal overturned a previous high court ruling which said new laws banning unauthorised protests did not apply to Brian Haw because his anti-war vigil began before they were introduced.

Haw, a 56-year-old father of seven, began his demonstration in 2001 against sanctions on Iraq, but later turned it into an anti-war protest.

New laws in Britain state that anyone wanting to demonstrate in the Parliament Square area of London around the Houses of Parliament must have police authorisation.

Haw had argued that because his protest began before the new laws were introduced, he did not have to abide by them. But today's ruling opens the way for the government to force him to end his protest.

One of the three appeal court judges, Sir Anthony Clarke, said parliament had intended the new laws ''to include demonstrations whenever they started''.

''Any other conclusion would be wholly irrational and could fairly be described as manifestly absurd,'' he added.

Haw was refused permission to appeal to the House of Lords.

REUTERS DKS KP1615