Illness and Death
In September 2010 Haw was diagnosed with lung cancer. On 1 January 2011 he left England to receive treatment in Berlin. Haw, who was described as a chain smoker, continued to smoke cigarettes until his death. Haw died in Germany in the early hours of 18 June 2011 of lung cancer. He is survived by seven children.
Reacting to news of Haw's death, Tony Benn said "Brian Haw was a man of principle his death marks the end of a historic enterprise by a man who gave everything to support his beliefs". At his death Al Jazeera described him as an "unsung hero". Mark Wallinger said "I admired single-minded tenacity. His rectitude was a mirror that the people in the building opposite couldn't bear. Now that he's gone, who else have we got?". The British MP John McDonnell has called for a statue of Haw to be assembled to celebrate peace. British artist Banksy honoured Haw with a tribute on his website.
London Assembly Member Jenny Jones called for Westminster Council to erect a blue plaque for Brian Haw immediately, bypassing English Heritage's criteria that the person commemorated should have been dead for two decades or passed the centenary of their birth, whichever is the earlier.
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