On the same day that Prime Minister David Cameron announced his intention to return the right to protest without fear of criminalisation, leader of Brighton and Hove City Council, Mary Mears, declared she wanted to ban an annual, peaceful protest that has run without incident for four years. The World Naked Bike ride is held every June. Thousands of people across the planet – from New York to Sydney to Argentina to Latvia to Peru to Cape Town to Prague to Taichung in Taiwan – strip off to protest against our dependency on oil and to highlight how vulnerable we all are on the road.

Last year’s event in Brighton and Hove saw around 800 people participate, and organisers say they are expecting around 1,000 to join in the fifth annual ride.

However, in mid-May, Coun Mears wrote to the chief superintendent of Brighton and Hove police force, calling into question the long-standing ruling that being naked is not a breach of indecency laws, and insisting the event “will lower the tone of the city ... cause offence and damage our reputation with visitors”.

Duncan Blinkhorn, co-organiser of the ride, says: “It’s a bit sad they’ve lost any kind of sense of fun about it. Everyone has always said to me it’s a very Brighton thing, so the idea that it’s not befitting of the city is a nonsense. We’ve got a very good relationship with the police, who are happy with the responsible attitude we take in organising it. It’s the fifth year this year and it’s not provoked anything significant in the way of complaints.”

Conservative councillor Dawn Barnett said the ride was “immoral” and “indecent” and insisted the campaigners are exhibitionists, not protesters.

Yet the line-up of attendees is typically a roll call of the city’s environmental usual suspects: Duncan, a stalwart of the various clean up Lewes Road groups, serial campaigners Vicky Wakefield-Jarrett and Luke Tonks, Kat Neeser from BScene networking for social entrepreneurs, and, among plenty of others, me. All people who, for the rest of the year, are more than content to keep their clothes on.

Duncan says: “There are many ways to protest and this is one way that draws attention to the issues. The ride is partly a protest, partly a carnival to celebrate cycling and partly collective performance art, using nudity to represent vulnerability and I think anyone who participates in the ride finds it very quickly enables them to face their own fears and weaknesses.”

The stated aims of the protest are simple, but the act of getting naked makes it a much more challenging proposition.

It becomes an event about breaking down barriers, dealing with insecurities and anxieties, finding ways of being happy with who we are and appreciating others for what they are.

When opponents talk about exhibitionism, immorality and indecency, the implication is that this event is somehow for the sexually devious.

As a participant myself, there can be no doubt that the inherent vulnerability of being outside in the altogether creates a startling absence of sexuality. Anyone of any sexual proclivity would struggle to find excitement in the surreal and terrifying act of cycling naked through Churchill Square on a busy Saturday.

Coun Mears’ letter to the police explained she was worried for the people who would see the bike ride “wittingly or unwittingly... many of whom will be young children”.

The ride dress code is “as bare as you dare”, with most people finding modesty in sartorial minimalism or cleverly placed body paint.

The same people claiming upset at the Naked Bike Ride have made no complaints about the latest H&M adverts adorning the city bus shelters, open for all ages to see, showing women in string bikinis much more scant than the attire of many on the bike ride. Nor have they commented on the various David Beckham advertising campaigns which pop up from time to time, showing the footballer in nothing but small, tight boxer shorts, and nor have they complained about the window displays at Ann Summers, a much more sexual, confusing and arguably damaging sight for the young children the councillors are concerned for.

Duncan says: “The idea that the human form is obscene in some way I think is a mistake.

Look at the way artists throughout history have celebrated the naked human form – it’s on display in public across the world in paintings, statues and art. Culturally, we tend not to think the human body is offensive these days – it’s an old-fashioned, prudish approach.”

The claims of indecency are also hard to countenance. Is someone dressed head to toe in clothing made in sweatshops less indecent than someone with no clothes on at all? Is celebrating consumerism with its endless pursuit of more stuff less indecent than celebrating the human body in its most simple form?

And in a city renowned for its Pride parade, championing love and humanity for people of all persuasions, the highlight of which is a very noisy, very brightly coloured and very scantily-clad parade, is the relatively small Naked Bike Ride really so upsetting to the eyes?

Duncan says it’s not the nudity that is indecent: “There is an obscenity in the day- to-day routine exposure that people have to high levels of air pollution. It’s known to damage health and life expectancy. The air quality at the Vogue Gyratory hasn’t improved over the past five years. I would rather the leader of the council was up in arms about that.”

Founder of the Brighton ride and co-organiser Nick Sayers says he’s thankful for the free publicity this furore has created and hopes that, Coun Mears’s concerns notwithstanding, this will be the biggest ride the city has seen.

Weather permitting, it seems likely the 2010 Brighton Naked Bike Ride will go ahead. For any potential onlookers waiting to take offence, let’s just remember one thing: under our clothes, we’re all naked. * Brighton Naked Bike Ride, tomorrow, June 13, meet noon at The Level. Come as bare as you dare. Visit www.worldnakedbikeride.org/brighton.