Joe Corré - the son of Sex Pistols manager Malcolm McLaren and Vivienne Westwood - has burned an estimated £5 million worth of punk memorabilia during a protest in London, to show his antipathy towards the 40th anniversary celebratory events going on in the city in tribute to the Sex Pistols' debut single. 

Sex PistolsSex Pistols memorabilia burned by Joe Corre

The protest took place on Saturday (November 26th 2016) on a barge at Cadogan Pier and included setting fire to effigies of former Prime Minister David Cameron, former Major of London Boris Johnson, current Prime Minister Theresa May and Secretary of State for Health Jeremy Hunt, labelling them 'a new band: EXTINCTION!'. His mother, highly respected fashion designer Vivienne Westwood, showed her support for her son at the event.

'Punk has become another marketing tool to sell you something you don't need', Corré is reported to have said during his protest. 'The illusion of an alternative choice. Conformity in another uniform.'

London is in the midst of a series of Punk London events celebrating the 40 year anniversary of the release of 'Anarchy in the UK'. It includes a Museum of London exhibition, a series of live gigs and movie screenings, all supported by the current Mayor of London. In an October blog post for his movement Burn Punk London, he ranted about the 'death' of punk and wrote: 'This anniversary is nothing more than a token gesture from one hand, designed to avert the gaze while the hand fleeces you completely.'

Among some of the memorabilia he burned were bondage trousers, rare Sex Pistols recordings, a Sid Vicious doll, posters, photographs and T-shirts. Corré, who happens to be the founder of world famous lingerie brand Agent Provocateur, said at a press conference that the aesthetic of punk has been 'castrated and neutered by the corporate sector' and dubbed it a 'McDonald's brand'. 

More: Sex Pistols home becomes Grade 2 listed building

'I think this is the right opportunity to say: you know what? Punk is dead', he told the Guardian. 'Stop conning a younger generation that it somehow has any currency to deal with the issues that they face or has any currency to create the way out of the issues that they face. It's not and it's time to think about something else.'