Anti war campaigners banned from protesting outside UK parliament

Thousands of British demonstrators planning to march on parliament next month to call for the withdrawal of troops from Afghanistan and Iraq are being told that their protest has been banned.

Stop the War Coalition (STWC) said that police would not allow protesters "within one mile of Parliament" when MPs return from their summer recess on October 8.

The ban on the planned march was said to relate to parliament's "sessional orders," which are intended to provide "free and easy access" for MPs.

STWC, which has organized national demonstration against the Iraq and Afghanistan wars for the past six years, criticized the ban as making a "totally different" interpretation of the regulations.

"One moment the Prime Minister is supporting the right of Burmese monks to demonstrate in Rangoon, and yet here in London we're being stopped from marching on Parliament. It's hypocrisy," said SWTC convener Lindsey German.

"The rules covering Parliament have never been interpreted in this way before. In fact, the police have always tried to be as flexible as possible. This is a new development and threatens our democratic rights," she said.

Sessional orders historically date back to parliament from 1680 but these are said to have now been replaced by the Serious Crime and Police Act in 2005, and decisions on demonstrations in the area are now taken by police.

German described the ban as a "new, worrying development from what has been custom and practice for years" but insisted that the march on October 8 would go ahead with thousands of demonstrators. --IRNA