Dozens of protesters stripped off today and staged a NUDE rally outside the Royal Courts of Justice – to support ‘The Naked Rambler’.
The cheeky protest saw around 30 people take off all their clothes to campaign for Stephen Gough – who has spent most of the last decade in prison for refusing to wear clothes.
Former Royal Marine Stephen, 54, walks around the UK in the nude – but is repeatedly arrested and given ASBOs banning him from being naked in public.
Stephen, of Eastleigh in Hampshire, was most recently jailed for 16 months earlier this month for breaching an order after he was spotted rambling in the buff.
His story is the subject of a TV documentary, titled ‘The Naked Rambler’, which will be screened on BBC1 at 10.35pm on Tuesday night.
Yesterday around two dozen supporters bared all outside the top London court in sympathy with Stephen, who has been jailed more than 20 times.
Protest organiser Richard Collins hopes the legal demonstration will help change people’s attitudes towards nudity.
Richard, a 57-year-old dad-of-two said: “I strongly feel that everybody has the right to be naked. We are born that way and I fully intend on dying that way.
“Nudity is normal, and it should be a freedom. Naturism doesn’t necessarily involve sex or sexuality.
“It’s a freedom of expression and should not be persecuted in the same way that people who express themselves in the way they dress should not be persecuted.
He added: “People like Stephen are being persecuted for being clothes-free in public, and under current laws, it’s only a crime if someone complains.
“People have an innate view on nudity. It’s like sexuality – some people are gay, some people aren’t, just like some people like being naked, others don’t.”