THE TV cameras were rolling, the microphones were on and the buskers were saying it loud and clear.
Liverpool City Council's new policy on busking was rolled out today - but in case anybody hadn't heard about it, musician Jonny Walker was determined to put that right - with his many friends.
As revealed exclusively in Liverpool Confidential last week, Johnny, who made a 500 mile round trip to be in Liverpool for the second time in five days, is calling on Liverpool Mayor Joe Anderson to think again and repeal what he calls a coercive new regime. A petition, here, has already garnered more than 2,000 signatures in a week.
From today all street entertainers will be required to:
*Prebook their pitches
*Shell out for a £20 permit
*Pay up to £100 for public liability insurance
*Perform only in designated spots around the city.
The raft of new rules will also require all acts to be over 18, hold a UK work permit and lots more.
But today there was a peaceful protest outside Primark, a communal busk "to celebrate Liverpool's vibrant and living street culture"
City Council officials also turned out and here is Ged Gibbons, CEO of City Centre BID which works with the big retailers in the city centre. He argues the toss with former trainee barrister Jonny. Watch it to the end when one of them has got not so much a chip on the shoulder as...
