Pirate Bay proxy website shut down The website was run by the Pirate Party UK, a fringe political party, and acted as a proxy gateway to the Pirate Bay, which broadband providers blocked earlier this year after a High Court order. The BPI, which represents record labels, had demanded that the proxy be shut down and said it would take legal action against the UK Pirate Party if it remained online. Today the organisation dropped its threat. "We asked Pirate Party UK to remove the proxy because The Pirate Bay is an illegal site that is undermining the growth of legal digital music services," said BPI chief executive Geoff Taylor. We believe its executives should respect the law, and the basic right of creative people to be paid for their work. There are many fantastic digital music services that make it simple to get music legally online. This outcome will help ensure that this new digital sector in the UK can grow, continue to innovate for music fans, and create more UK jobs. The Pirate Party UK said it did not have the financial resources to fight a court case. All the major broadband providers have blocked access to the Pirate Bay itself following a landmark High Court ruling in the BPI's favour April. The service, based in Sweden, acts as an index of film, music and software files available via BitTorrent, the file sharing protocol. The UK Pirate Party set up its proxy website after the ban came into force, arguing it was counter to free speech online.