The Independent, Anti-war protesters claim that US authorities have demanded a rolling “exclusion zone” around President George Bush during his visit, as well as a ban on marches in parts of central London.
The Stop The War Coalition said yesterday that it had been told by the police that it would not be allowed to demonstrate in Parliament Square and Whitehall next Thursday – a ban it said it was determined to resist. The coalition says that it has also been told by British officials that American officials want a distance kept between Mr Bush and protesters, for security reasons and to prevent their appearance in the same television shots.
The Metropolitan Police banned the Parliament Square and Whitehall route by the use of Sessional Orders – which can be enforced for such a purpose when Parliament is in session.
MPs supporting the protests saydemonstrations have been allowed while Parliament was sitting, and, in any case, it was unlikely it will be doing so on the day of the proposed march.
The mayor of London, Ken Livingstone, said yesterday that Mr Bush should not be shielded from public anger about the Iraq war, and Londoners should not have to pick up the
