Stop the War march and rally Saturday 24th October 2009

There was a large and colourful anti-war march and rally in London on Saturday October 24th. The march assembled at Hyde Park between 12.00 and 13.00 and consisted of a very wide spectrum of anti-war groups from around the country. The march included groups from Leeds, Penzance, Bradford, Newcastle upon Tyne, Norwich, Yeovil, Sherbourne (Somerset) , Lewisham and Greenwich, Rochdale, Bromley, Glasgow, Edinburgh, Bath as well as of course London. The size of the march was not quite as large as the huge ones of 2003 but it was disparate with people from all over Britain taking part. The policing was low key with no arrests being reported.

The protest march walked from Hyde Park to Trafalgar Square via Piccadilly, Regent Street, Charles II Street, Haymarket and Pall Mall East singing anti-war songs and carrying banners and placards. Posters and streamers carried messages saying `Silence is Shame`, `End the occupation` , `Not in our Name`, `Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament` , `The people want peace` , `End the siege on Gaza` , `Stop the bloodshed` and `Bring the troops home`.

The march reached Trafalgar Square where a number of high profile speakers addressed the rally which by then totalled some 10-15 thousand. Orators included MPs Jeremy Corbyn and George Galloway, actors Bill Patterson and Corin Redgrave, journalist and author Seumas Milne and President of Stop the War and formerly MP for 51 years Tony Benn.

More photos and details follow in a supplemental report shortly.