Greens join local campaigners and charities calling for the cancellation of Marilyn Manson booking

The performance is due to take place at the Brighton Centre – a council-owned venue – going against the city’s values and creating serious concerns about safeguarding

Siân Berry MP and Cllr Chloë Goldsmith, along with local campaigners and charities, have written to the leader of Brighton and Hove City Council, Bella Sankey, asking that she take action and cancel the booking of Brian Warner, who goes by the stage name Marilyn Manson.

Warner has been accused of multiple allegations of sexual assault, grooming, and domestic violence, but was not prosecuted in the USA as it was determined they fell outside the statute of limitations. With children as young as 14 able to attend the event, the letter highlights serious safeguarding concerns that this raises.

Signatories of the letter are also deeply concerned about the message it sends to survivors in the city, for someone with all of these allegations against him to be allowed to perform at the city’s biggest publicly-owned venue. The majority of sexual assault cases in both the US and the UK do not result in a prosecution.

In addition to the cancellation of the the booking, the letter asks that the council works with residents to develop an Indoor Events Policy and to review how decisions on which acts to book are made, to prevent cases like these in future.

The co-signatories to the letter are: Lucy May from Reclaim the Night Brighton & Hove; Helen Race from Survivors Network; members of the Queery Collective; and Full Time Officers at University of Sussex Students Union.

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Letter to Cllr Bella Sankey, Labour Leader of Brighton & Hove City Council

Siân Berry MP
Member of Parliament for Brighton Pavilion
House of Commons, London SW1A 0AA

06 June 2025

Cllr Bella Sankey
Leader of Brighton and Hove City Council
By Email

Dear Bella,

We are writing to you as a group of local elected representatives, charities, and campaigners to call for Brighton and Hove City Council to use its influence as the owner of the Brighton Centre to cancel the proposed hosting of a performance of Brian Warner, known as Marilyn Manson, on 29 October 2025.

We believe it is also against our city’s well-renowned values for Brighton and Hove City Council to benefit financially from this performance and, although costs may ensue, the local authority has the power to cancel this booking as it owns and operates the Brighton Centre. We also believe there are clear safeguarding risks to attendees and more broadly by allowing this concert to go ahead. We are deeply concerned that this show has an age restriction that means children as young as 14 can attend.

Warner has been accused of multiple allegations of sexual assault, grooming and domestic violence. It is the case that prosecutors in the USA have determined these accusations fall outside of the statute of limitations, but this does not preclude any conclusions being drawn about risks.

We also recognise the courage of the women who came forward to make reports and share their experiences. It is important to note that in the United States, as is also the case in the UK, the vast majority of perpetrators of sexual violence will not be prosecuted.¹

There are multiple policies in place within the City Council that are relevant to considering
this issue, including:

1. The 2024-2028 document, Preventing and tackling violence against women and girls, domestic abuse, and sexual violence, which says the Council is: “committed to listening and responding to the needs of survivors in our city.”²
2. The current City Plan, which makes clear there is: “no place in our city for fear of crime, violence, or abuse” and that the Council will seek to ensure that Brighton and Hove is a place where everyone feels safe.³
3. The 2013 Outdoor Events Policy, which includes criteria for approval including: “The ability to demonstrate commitment to Brighton and Hove City Council’s equal opportunities statement,” and: “Impact of the event on regular users of public spaces, stakeholders and local residents.” This policy is not strictly for indoor events of this kind, but its provisions are relevant to the wider area and should be applied.⁴

It is clear that this proposed performance has implications that risk breaching all these policies, and we believe you have strong grounds for reconsidering this decision. Many survivors in Brighton and Hove, and organisations supporting them, will have very serious concerns about this booking and its impact on other people visiting the city centre, local residents and the wider community.

Freedom of expression is an important principle that should be defended, including in relation to artists, but there is an obvious risk to community cohesion and the council has separate equalities obligations to foster good relations between people who share protected characteristics and people who do not share them. The Council has a responsibility to take action where there are risks of discrimination, harassment and victimisation.

The level and nature of the accusations against Warner are concerning enough alone, but so too is the message sent out by providing a platform for this individual, at our city’s biggest publicly owned venue, and what this will mean to survivors.

We understand that leading cabinet members have admitted this booking is ‘problematic’ but that they will not consider cancelling the performance. And we understand that cancellation may have financial implications, although the proposed performance is still several months away. We believe a solution must be found and that, despite these difficulties, the Council should act in line with its obligations to our values and the serious concerns around public safety and community cohesion. As Leader of the Council we ask you to:

• Work with the legal and events teams within Brighton and Hove City Council to seek advice on options to cancel this booking.
• Review how the council makes decisions on which acts to book at its venues, and involve elected representatives where there are concerns.
• Develop an Indoor Events Policy, working with residents and councillors to put in place similar criteria as for outdoor events on Council property, in order to prevent similar issues with future bookings.
• Meet with survivors organisations and campaigners to discuss this event and how we as a city can take action.

We look forward to hearing from you.

Yours sincerely,

Siân Berry MP
Green Party, Brighton Pavilion

Co-signed by:

Notes

1. The U.S based RAINN (Rape, Abuse & Incest National Network), the nation’s largest anti-sexual violence organisation, reports that out of every 1,000 sexual assaults, only 50 cases will lead to arrest and 975 perpetrators will ultimately walk free: https://rainn.org/statistics/criminal-justice-system ↩︎
2. Preventing and tackling violence against women and girls domestic abuse and sexual violence (VAWGDASV) – Strategic Direction 2024 – 2028 Brighton and Hove City Council https://democracy.brighton-hove.gov.uk/documents/s200096/VAWGDASV%20Strategic%20Direction%202024%20to%202028%20APX.%20n%201.pdf This states among its objectives: Prioritising prevention to end VAWGDASV through a collaborative approach to awareness raising, data and information sharing, capacity building, education, and communication campaigns,” and says that: “Brighton & Hove City Council is committed to listening and responding to the needs of survivors in our city. We will work with partners and our communities to continue to engage, listen and collaborate to codevelop and co-deliver our strategic approach” ↩︎
3. Brighton and Hove Council Plan 2023-2027, https://www.brighton-hove.gov.uk/sites/default/files/2023-
   09/Council%20Plan%202023%20to%202027.pdf. This aims for a: “fair and inclusive city where people feel
   safe, included and welcome.” ↩︎
4. Outdoor Events Policy 2013. Brighton and Hove City Council, 2013. https://www.brighton-hove.gov.uk/sites/default/files/migrated/article/inline/PDF%20D-08%20Outdoor%20Events%20Policy%20v6.pdf ↩︎