Thousands of anti-war campaigners took to the streets of London on Sunday calling for an end to the "illegal occupation" of Iraq by U.S-led coalition troops. The protest, which police said attracted about 15,000 people, aimed to pile yet more pressure on Prime Minister Tony Blair, whose active support for U.S. President George W. Bush's war in Iraq has already damaged his popularity ratings. Demonstrators carried posters and banners bearing slogans condemning the war, while some dressed in colourful costumes marched alongside floats to the accompaniment of dance music. The protest came at the close of a three-day European Social Forum in which thousands of trade unionists, environmental and peace campaigners and politicians gathered in London for a conference to oppose war, racism and big business. "Most people feel that until this illegal occupation is ended, there will not be peace in Iraq," Lindsay German, spokeswoman for the Stop The War Coalition, told Sky television.
