Don’t mention the war during the royal wedding

It's every bride's worst nightmare. You've done the ceremony bit and you're driving in your gold state coach behind eight white horses around Parliament Square when you suddenly spot an embarrassing reminder that your new grandmother-in-law's government is engaged in a couple of controversial wars in the middle east.

It seems that Kate Middleton and Prince William's wedding later this year could be blighted by the presence of an uninvited guest. Brian Haw may be the ghost at the feast.

The badge-covered hat-wearing figure of Haw, a 62-year-old peace campaigner, has become a familiar sight in Westminster since he first took up residence there in 2001. He has survived numerous attempts to evict him – but could it be that in the royal wedding he has met his match?

The royal couple themselves are said to be "unconcerned" by Haw's protest clashing with their nuptials – but the powers that be are convulsed with horror at the thought of TV cameras from around the world picking out the placard-waving Haw, or his co-protester Barbara Tucker, as the royal coach passes them in April.

David Cameron is extremely concerned – and has vowed to "get this problem sorted out" in time for the wedding. The government is said to fear the adverse publicity might mitigate the huge boost to tourism they anticipate from the wedding.

For some, Haw has become a tourist attraction in his own right – it is now almost ten years since he began his lonely vigil, initially in disgust at the consequences of trade sanctions against Saddam Hussein's Iraq.

He has been the subject of countless news reports, magazine articles and films – and even of a Turner Prize-winning work of art. Mark Wallinger's State Britain was a perfect re-creation of the large display of placards Haw had accrued on the pavement in Parliament Square, which were later removed by police.

But now, a last-ditch attempt is to be launched to have Haw evicted, led by the Mayor of London, Boris Johnson. If it fails, Colin Barrow, leader of Westminster City Council, told the Sunday Times he wanted parliament to "consider emergency legislation" to get Haw out.

Of course, some international viewers might see the fact that Haw is still in the square, after a decade of legal manoeuvring and eviction attempts, as testament to the fact that Britain is a democratic and free country.

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