'Die-in' protest outside Parliament

Dozens of anti-war protesters have staged a mass "die-in" outside Parliament calling for British troops to be withdrawn from Iraq.

Chanting slogans and holding banners, the activists blocked two lanes of the road during the event organised by the Stop The War Coalition and CND.

Brief scuffles broke out between police and a few demonstrators as officers attempted to move the crowd back on to the central area of Parliament Square, and for short periods traffic was prevented from travelling past the Houses of Parliament.

The protest is one of a series of events staged today across the UK and mark the second anniversary of the huge anti-war march in London which saw more than a million people take part in the demonstration in a bid to stop Iraq being invaded.

Lindsey German, the convenor of the Stop The War Coalition, said: "Our die-in was held to symbolise the tens of thousands who have died in Iraq since the war began. We are also calling for the troops to be withdrawn.

"We think it's significant that America and Britain don't count the number of Iraqi dead, but they do count the number of their troops who have died."

Speaking about Mr Blair's weekend speech at a Labour conference, she added: "Even Blair admits, from his recent speech, that one of the reasons people are upset is because of the war."

She added: "I believe this will become an election issue as most people don't want to forgive or forget on this issue."



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