No bubble for Bush
US president George W Bush will not be shielded from anti-war protestors when he visits London next week, police said last night.
Despite a plea from prime minister Tony Blair for the public to listen to Mr Bush’s foreign policy on Iraq and global terrorism, police predict a sizeable contingent of hostile anti-war protestors on London’s streets between November 19-21.
The Metropolitan Police Authority yesterday confirmed it had no plans to stifle “embarrassing” anti-Bush demonstrations.
Met deputy chairman, Richard Barnes, said Scotland Yard should ultimately decide security arrangements, not Washington.
Mr Barnes said: “There must be a clear command structure so that ultimately it is the home secretary (interior minister) and the (police) commissioner that are in charge of the security and that there is no blurring of the edges.”
And the Mayor of London, Ken Livingstone, himself outspoken on the war to oust Saddam Hussein from power, said he believed a “reasonable balance” between security and peaceful protest could be achieved during the three-day visit.
Protestors, who may total 100,000 according to the Stop the War Coalition, say they will ignore the so-called “exclusion zone” or “bubble” around Mr Bush.
The security operation is estimated to cost £4 million.
Up to 5,000 officers from the Met, the City of London Police and British Transport Police will be deployed to protect Mr Bush from violent protests or a terror assault.
The Times Newspaper ran a story on Wednesday claiming US officials feared a suicide bomb attack by al Qaeda terrorists, who may use the large crowds to launch an assault.
President Bush and his wife will be staying at Buckingham Palace.
