Robbie the Pict
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Robbie the Pict (born Brian Robertson), is a Scottish nationalist. Born in 1947, he is a renowned campaigner on a number of issues.
In 1977 he attempted to renounce his citizenship of the United Kingdom and established the Pictish Free State, a micronation on the island of Skye. However under British Nationality Law if a person who renounces their citizenship fails to acquire another valid citizenship then the renunciation of British citizenship is not effective. The British State claims that he is therefore a British citizen whether he likes it or not. Beginning with a single acre (4,000 m²) of land near Dunvegan, it has since been expanded by its supporters, reaching a reported size of around 1000 acres (4 km²) in 2004.
He was a noted campaigner in the successful removal of tolls on the Skye Bridge, and stood for election to the Scottish Parliament as an independent candidate for the Highlands and Islands electoral region in both the 1999 election (as a Scottish People's Mission candidate) and the 2003 election. He was unsuccessful on both occasions.
Robbie the Pict refuses to recognise UK law, and has been arrested on over 300 occasions for (minor) breaches. He refuses to pay British road-tax on his car, to which he has added Pictish Free State Diplomatic Corps license plates (although the police do not recognise the diplomatic immunity Robbie the Pict contends this indicates). He has been imprisoned on a number of occasions, mostly for non-payment of Skye Bridge Toll-related fines.
