LAST month, Worcestershire peace protester Brian Haw was told to scale down his noisy and ever-expanding demonstration outside the Houses of Parliament.

He had, according to the authorities, become a security threat because terrorists could plant bombs under his dozens of signs and banners.

Brian was having none of it. He said: "This is a terrorism-free zone. I don't allow terrorism here."

But, sure enough, he this week found himself at the centre of a real security alert.

It ended with his arrest for allegedly assaulting a police officer and an - albeit temporary - end to his vigil. It also made him very unhappy indeed.

Puzzled hacks had begun to make inquiries about the 55-year-old father-of-seven's whereabouts early on Monday.

They had turned up at work and - for the first time in three years - not seen Brian sat in Parliament Square with a loud hailer.

It turned out that, on Sunday night, police had attended an alert sparked by a parked car.

He allegedly refused to leave his spot and was later charged with assaulting a police officer in connection with the incident.

His banners were confiscated - giving apparent weight to his claims that

attempts to shift him are politically motivated.

(Brian himself has been shouting: "Who ordered junior police at Charing Cross police station to behave in a wanton manner?")

By the end of Monday, normal service had been resumed. Brian was back and so were his placards and loud hailer (which he had by now turned up to maximum).

Brian has been shouting at his crumpled placards: "Who made this mess? My display looks like this because the police made it look like this."

But the police, dismissing any conspiracy theory, said they had only taken them for "safe keeping".

A source said: "The Met respects his right to protest and it is not an attempt to stop him protesting."

In the past, Westminster Council has tried to evict him, claiming his banners obstructed the highway, but a High Court judge refused to back them.

MPs have complained about noise and want him shifted - during the Hutton Inquiry his cries of 45-minutes Mr Blair! 45 minutes Mr BLIAR! were as regular as the bongs from Big Ben.

But Brian, from Redditch, has also attracted many messages of support - as well as verbal abuse - from people from all over the world.

He will appear before Bow Street Magistrates' Court on Thursday, May 18.